Hibernating

Leer en español.

According to the Oxford Dictionary online:

hibernate
1(of an animal or plant) spend the winter in a dormant state.
1.1 (of a person) remain inactive or indoors for an extended period.

Which is what I guess I've been doing lately, and the reason why I haven't updated this blog in a while. I did escape part of the northern winter by spending a few weeks in my home country, but came back to a few days of temperatures slightly below zero (which here is often enough for the media to start panicking about "the Siberian conditions", even though winter in Germany is fairly mild when compared with, say, the northern US and Canada), and more recently enjoyed a couple of lovely snowy days. Having grown in the tropics, I wasn't used to a year having four seasons; but after over a decade abroad it is something that I've learned to appreciate: each season has its own unique beauty. Of course this doesn't mean that by end-February one is not starting to feel just a bit fed up of all that wintry feeling...

A winter scene in the fields nearby.

Given that nature is still asleep, there's less to do in the garden, and almost no plants to collect; which means that I can take a short break and just enjoy the snow for a few weeks, before it's time again to begin cleaning and preparing the greenhouse, and starting to plant things indoors. I'm already looking forward!

Last November I used coconut fiber mat to protect the roots of my potted plants; so they are doing ok. Some of them already have little buds: they're looking forward to the spring too.

While the bird house is not occupied full-time, I was surprised to see small birds using it as a temporary shelter on cold days.