Post Comment Love 7 - 9 February

Hello there, and welcome back to this week’s #PoCoLo - a relaxed, friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked, comment and share some of that love.

Please don’t link up posts which are older as they will be removed from the linky, and if older posts are linked then please don’t feel that it’s necessary to comment on those. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’ve joined us.

Things are starting to feel more normal here, finally. I’ve even started the 12 Days of Abs which had been my plan for January, and having a bad cough really made the point for this kind of workout! Yesterday was the first day, and while it’s only 12 minutes, I think I’m going to feel it - but I knew I would.

My photo this week is of some gorgeous buttons which I picked up in a new-to-me shop in Newark. I’d popped into an independent card shop, which I suspect has been trading for many years, to see if they sold stamps. They didn’t, so I thought while I was there I’d have a quick look round and was surprised to find a small craft section.

This pack of bright yellow buttons stood out to me - so much so that I don’t think I looked at what else there was since I spotted them, so they were clearly coming home with me. And all this vintage loveliness for a pound - and I need to go back to see what else I missed out on, I really did have a mission once I’d spotted these!

Have a great week.

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My garden in January

Another short winter garden post this month understandably as most of the time we’ve spent in the garden is either walking to the car or emptying the bins - but I have enjoyed viewing the garden from the house.

And with frosts like these it’s hardly surprising is it?

Thankfully the plants seem to have taken the wintery weather pretty well - though it looks as if I’ve lost the sickly rosemary which I planted in the outside border, I’d hoped it would be able to turn itself around out of the wind, but it was not to be. The other plant that’s looking decidedly dodgy is the one midway in the border below (to the right of the three concrete balls). It’s got a variegated leaf and it really doesn’t look too happy - if it makes it, and I’m hopeful it may, then I think I’ll pop it into a pot and see how it does, as maybe the rootball is restricted somehow.

We had a large leaf blowing around our garden, and neither MOH or I could work out if it was actually a leaf or some cardboard. It turned out to be a very large leaf indeed - I’ve not seen other leaves like this, so I wonder how far it had blown.

The pots of daffodils and tulips are starting to do their thing and poke their shoots through the surface. I was glad to have spotted this as a couple of the tulip pots were double stacked, which clearly wouldn’t have been a good thing - though I’m sure the tulips would have tried their bendy best to seek out the light and grow!

Last March I’d bought some snowdrops in the green and had planted them in the border which we look out over from the house, and was wondering where they’d got to. Towards the end of the month I spotted some potential snowdrop activity, then overnight a single snowdrop appeared.

Since then this one has been joined by a few more, and the second clump is also showing signs of growth - hopefully they’ll really come into their own during February (and of course in the years ahead), but they are a good reminder that spring is on its way, however slowly that may feel at times.

Walking East Stoke's lanes: January 2025

I said the next post in this series would be here before you know it, and here it is - but first it’s a year now since I started these posts and it’s been an interesting way to learn about the countryside on our doorstep, and I’m sure that this year there’ll be similarities but also differences and it will be a fun way of noticing and sharing those.

Anyway, in January I only made it out on one walk - and I didn’t want to go on that! To be fair it was the day after New Year’s Day, and my cough and cold was just starting to show itself. Of course once I got out it was fine, if not a little chilly - and as our more usual New Year’s Day walk had been rained off, it seemed only right.

We headed down School Lane, into Church Lane and down to the Trent - a walk we’ve done many times, and I’m sure the photos are familiar to you too. We started our walk mid-morning, and to give you an idea of how cold it was this was my car windscreen less than half an hour before we set off.

As we walked down towards the church there were plenty of iced up muddy puddles which also formed some interesting designs.

But with a view like this in front of you it was almost possible to forget how chilly it was, turning and looking behind me though I got a great view of the church surrounded by the trees branches, but don’t be fooled by that sky it was still cold.

The track to the river was strewn with puddles and walking around them must surely have added some steps to our total count - thankfully though I’d opted for walking boots, and of course left a small trail of dried mud in the house before I left, but never mind.

Reaching the Trent it was clear to see the river levels were higher than normal. The vegetation was much lower though given the time of year, and we spotted the path to the jetty we’d spotted earlier in the summer - only the four post tops were visible, which gives an indication of how much additional water the river was dealing with. It’ll be interesting to see how the jetty and its post fare in future updates, vegetation permitting.

A few days, and more rain later, MOH ventured out for another walk this time heading down Moor Lane where he usually cycles, but given the ice he’d opted to go on foot. By this time I was full of cold and had no interest in leaving the house unless I needed to, but I was keen to see his pictures.

It was the greyest of grey days, as his photo shows!

What it also shows is the bridge on Moor Lane where we usually pause and turn back - both the field on the left and the stream are full of water. I don’t think I’ll ever get over seeing how much water floods onto the fields semi-regularly here, let alone when it goes further and houses are affected, it’s not something that was even a consideration when we lived up the hill from Greenwich in South London, and I suspect many people who don’t see it for themselves also can’t comprehend it either.

Thanks for joining me for this update, if you enjoyed this post you may also like to see all of the posts in this series. Hopefully I’ll still be ‘on schedule’ for an earlier in the month post next month, and I’ve pulled on my walking boots and have some photos to share in the meantime!