Joyous New Year wishes fellow readers…….here we find ourselves in the clutches of yet another lockdown scenario…….a time to look for joy in simple pleasures. I was pondering the theme of this first blog post of a new year…. whilst making a morning cuppa and watching the garden birds taking it in turns to eat the sunflower seeds on our feeder, I realised how vital it is at this challenging time, to seek out those simple pleasures that punctuate our days.

I keep our bird feeder topped up as best I can, although we have a cheeky squirrel or two that are pretty nifty gymnasts and somehow manage to mission impossible manoeuvre themselves into tipping the seeds onto the ground before letting the feasting begin! We decided to dangle with a longish wire the feeder from a low branch in a vain bid to detract the fluffy buggers………all said it makes for some interesting nature watching!!

I know how much better I feel when I am out walking, albeit during a lockdown with the suggested 1 daily exercise walk…… Over the festive period everywhere looked much prettier with all of the lights and colours, thank fully many households have decided to keep their outside lights longer than usual! We have discovered many new streets on our daily walks and it feels a bit like we are cartographers scanning an area! Such creatures of habit us humans aren’t we…..we tend to stick to what we know and take comfort in the familiar.

Whether we like it or not……or even whether we really register it or not, our days have probably become more mindful and we live a little more consciously in the moment. Those simple pleasures seem to become more prominent. A hot cup of tea in your hand, the pinch on your nose on the recent cold snap…..saying good morning to the robin in your garden……stroking your cat and burying your nose around the really fluffy part of the ears, lighting a scented candle to fill your space for a bit. We really REALLY need to find positives in everything that happens in everyday of this odd odd, annoying, relentless, seemingly unforgiving time……..

As our daily routines change and evolve, we find ourselves forced to adapt with them. Thanks to covid I get to do more administrative tasks (uggggh) and get properly prepped for the start of a new year.

Doing things that make us feel good are paramount right now……apart from walking and taking a nice bath….changing the bed linen for the brushed cotton sets that are sooooo snuggly…..baking scones and eating most of them whilst still warm……watching the oblivious birds just getting on with what birds do every day……fussing the cats……cosy jumpers……..simple pleasures, yet no less pleasurable because they are simple. I will also add a link to a funny article by Hadley Freeman from the Guardian….sorry, just copy n paste into your browser!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/09/not-sure-how-youre-going-to-get-through-january-i-can-help

Please follow my best friend Elizabeth Whitehouse @elizabethwhitehouseart

Such a talented artist and her work will surely give you a positive boost……

So, whatever you do over the coming days and weeks…..I wish you all the very best…..I will be trying to be in the moment a bit more and do more of the things that make me feel good!

The following pics might make you smile too!

And, finally…..the last pic shows stealth bird watching at its very best…..perfect unison from the fluffy sisters!!

Take care everyone and stay safe…..until next time…..