14 January

 

Yesterday's post never happened. It was an unexpectedly busy day with guests staying quite late (a fun dinner party), and I went to bed shortly after tidying the kitchen. I'm a wee bit obsessive about not missing a day in a challenge, so I'm finding myself feeling somewhat rebellious by doing so. 

We've had the coldest temperature recorded in six decades here. Not very cold compared to other places on earth, but -11 Celsius means that gardeners will have lost some plants. Time will tell. The frigid temperatures are moving eastwards now and ours are moderating, although still below freezing. Sunset colours have been vibrant, staining large swaths of sky from orange and red to pink and violet. 

I've been perusing a new to me book, Beatrix Potter's Gardening Life. The book is set out in three parts: Part One is a gardener's biography, Part Two is a year in her gardens, and Part Three is a traveler's guide. I confess to heading straight to Part Two, but will begin at the beginning soon. 

The daffodils I purchased last week are fully open now, and this morning's fleeting sunshine cast strong shadows against the wall. 

Beatrix Potter loved the wild daffodils that grew in the Lake District, but she had many cultivated daffodils in her gardens. She had enough different kinds to have blooms in her flowerbeds for two months. 

Some housekeeping notes:

Thank you for the lovely comments about the photo of my mother and her three younger siblings. To clarify, she is the eldest of 10 children, so six more followed after the photo I showed. 

Also, Anonymous, from Victoria, wrote that she had found a good hairdresser here. Thank you for your kindness. You can email me by going to my profile and clicking on email. However, the day after my disastrous haircut I had another cut at a salon recommended by my daughter, and I'm so very pleased with it. Bad hair can be a bit of a trial. 

I'll conclude with Beatrix Potter's comment on winter - "There has been some lovely weather--to look at."