It's Still Life

1.) …were you eaten by a cat; were you hit by a car; did a fox get you while your back was turned? Those were my thoughts for 2 weeks while my crow, who’s not my crow and never will be my crow, had a strop because I was away in Colombia. I am thankful that he’s returned. I am more than thankful.

2) Hanaz’s smothered cabbage soup. I know a lot of people detest cooked cabbage with its sulforaphane scent, but I am grateful for this soup recipe. Cooked cabbage is a superfood, and I began to feel better immediately (still fighting off the last coughs of RSV).

3) …for every sign of spring no matter how slight or small. Having said that, it’s far too early, like nearly a month, for these crocuses to break ground and bloom.

4) …my very clever crow. 

5) …that I can pull my little iPhone out of my pocket and take a photo that makes me smile (note: I used a filter to make the shapes more defined because the original was just a lot of milky fog).

6) … Thankful that winter doesn’t last unnecessarily long. This is a view from a field that’s usually full of sheep. It wasn’t until I applied a B&W filter that the sun appeared in the photo.

7) …that winter ends in 37 days according to the meteorological calendar.

St Brigid’s Day (Lá Fhéile Bríde) and Imbolc are on 1 February, both mark the beginning of spring.

8) …thankful for all the bits in the fridge that can be turned into an omelet for dinner. And then we had ice cream for afters. Thankful.

9) …I am thankful for a long overdue peaceful walk in the forest today. It is a calm that cannot be replicated in any other way. B&W suits Sussex very well at this time of year.

10) … that my temperature is normal again. A low-grade fever for 2 weeks is exhausting. I am thankful to all those who cared and looked after me.