Well. Here we are at the start of 2020! Let's begin with a look back at 2019 shall we? It's felt rather less eventful than 2018 (thank goodness). After looking back on a rather busy 2018, I started the year thinking about living seasonally, and then was promptly thrown into living seasonally when the snow arrived. I declared an intention to start walking more, which I've sometimes kept up with, sometimes not. February started with a chicken tragedy, when a stoat found its way into the hen house and killed Hermione and Luna. We buried them under the fruit trees, and Mildred and Maud, physically fine but intensely traumatised, came to live in our house for a few weeks (rather disrupting the beginning of my work sabbatical). They slowly recovered while we made reinforcements to their run, and at the end of February we collected three new ladies, freed from battery cages, to add to our little flock. In March, I pondered January and February in the garden, went for a run around a local reservoir, and waffled on about the chickens (there was a lot of that in 2019). In April I finally finished knitting a cardi for a friend's daughter (it was very late, and rather small), and continued taking my morning constitutional walks around the local lanes. In May I talked about chickens (again), and did an unusual amount of travelling (to Copenhagen, Glasgow, and Hebden Bridge). I finished the month with a look at May in the garden. I didn't say much in June, but spent quite a bit of time chasing sheep out of our fields (something I've just had to do again today, unfortunately). In July, work got unexpectedly busy, and I neglected the garden, but did find time for a series of mini adventures. In August it rained quite a lot, but the sun shone too. I pondered June and July in the garden, when we tidied up quite a bit, and a tiny hare took up residence. I walked six miles to meet a friend in a cafe, and took a trip to Calke Abbey. In September, I talked about our hay making! Most exciting. I also reflected on how rainy August had been and how soggy the garden was. I did a bit of sunbathing with the chickens. In October we finally had the builders in, and there was lots of upheaval as they replaced the kitchen ceiling. The chickens weren't impressed at being confined (but would have tripped up a builder or got stuck in a cement mixer if let out). I reflected on September and October in the garden, and how much I'd neglected it. We did still manage to grow our first apples though! By November, the builders had left, and we were slightly overwhelmed by what we still had to do. I went on a beekeeping course (which was interesting, but convinced me I was not going to keep bees any time soon), and I went on and on about how rainy the autumn was. In December, Beaky the chicken was ill, and had to be admitted to our in-house chicken hospital wing for a week and a half (which gave us a nice excuse not to do any DIY). I'm delighted that she made a full recovery. I finished the year enthusing about my love of cafes.
So there we are - another year gone by. I feel like 2019 has been rather sedate in comparison to 2018, but in reality it's been our first full year in our new house, so there's still been lots of settling in to do, and we've had major building work done after all. I've had some unexpectedly busy times at work too, a little out of the normal routine, which have taken a lot of time and head space but which should (fingers crossed) make things more interesting soon enough.
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Hello!Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'm Jenni, and I write here about our new foray into country living, which includes growing food, knitting, baking, wandering around the fields, and seeing which local cafe serves the best cake. Categories
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