Each year, the days after Christmas seem almost suspended in time. There’s little to do on the farm apart from pigeon scaring and life slows down after the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle. Meals become moveable feasts assembled from leftovers and we take long walks around the farm on frosty mornings or in bright winter sunshine.
But after the languor of the Christmas break, life is returning to a more normal routine, albeit at a slower pace so far. The Christmas Tree Barn has been cleared out, the unsold Christmas decorations from the Barley Barn have been packed away and today Stilton & Celery Soup used all that remains of Christmas and New Year food apart from the Christmas cake that seems to go on forever. I’ve taken down some of the decorations so we can recycle the greenery as fire starters because the only newspaper we have to light the fire are fish shaped pieces left over from a New Year’s Eve game of Flip the Kipper and by the end of the weekend I expect all signs of Christmas festivities will be gone.
I like the New Year. New calendars and blank diaries; the promise of days to come; fresh starts and all that. There’s things to do and plans to make. If I was a list maker, I’d be sharpening my pencil and writing a new one now. What about you? Do you look back at the past year or are you leaping into the next one?
LIFE IN MUD SPATTERED BOOTS 
Happy New Year. I wait and see what happens
Julie xxxx
I like your New Year Photos, especially the frozen tractor wheel marks.
Happy New Year.
Just as I was reading your post Mike walked in and asked if I would like a piece of Christmas cake.. I think I will buy (or even make!) a smaller one this year.
Definitely leaping forward now. I read somewhere today that you can’t start a new chapter if you are still reading the previous one. Happy New Year Anne.
What if you skip to the end of the book because you get bored half way through?
Then you would probably miss the best bit. Or maybe not.
Wonderful
Great pics Anne .. Im enjoying a relaxed start to the year. Except for my garden that is! Happy New Year to you 😉
Oh, last year is, well, so last year! I’m so glad it is now 2015. I get very restless in the last couple of weeks of December, so am now duly relieved to be on with the new. Have a good one😊.
Oh those chilly photos Anne…such a contrast to our searing heat and red dust. Beautifully captured!
A little of your searing heat wouldn’t come amiss – just for a day and then we could go back to cold.
Sounds like a lovely time of year on the farm Anne. Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Anne! Love your pics especially your beautiful chandelier-style wreath with the silver baubles – don’t tell me you made that from scratch out of twigs! I bet you did though. I’ve had some difficulty with getting larger size twiggy concoctions to stay neatly round like this one of yours looks. Any tips? Sadly my Christmas cake is all gone now – I wish mine went on forever but there are too many Christmas cake lovers here for that unfortunately! E x
I made six large hoops for the wedding last year. I cut the willow around this time last year, formed them into circles and then left them alone for a few months. They seem to have kept their shape, though I didn’t untie the string on one of them as it looked as if it might all burst free. Last slice of Christmas cake tonight and then ours will all be gone too.
Happy New Year Anne. I love all those leftover meals too. Have to admit we’ve been scoffing so much we’ve only managed to start eating the Christmas cake today – we’ve been too full after every other meal to contemplate it!
What beautiful photography. Happy New Year to you – I am so done with 2014 and 2015 is going to be a fantastic year so I’m leaping into it with both feet.
What a stunning post, Anne! Your New Year weather is so different from ours! Here in South Australia we’ve had searing heat and bushfires to contend with. Like you, I love the blank canvas of a New Year – and the exciting promises it holds! Hoping your New Year is wonderful in every way!
Thanks for the prompt Anne, I think I’m off to go and sharpen a pencil and write me a list….or three.
Love the look of your beautiful frozen world. So lovely.
I love the patterns in that frozen field. Lovely.
Happy New Year! What beautiful pictures! We have leaped into 2015, because there’s so much to do… not least organising our move from Brussels in just a few weeks. After that we’ll be travelling around France for a few months, staying on farms part of the time (are you familiar with the WOOF scheme?).
Happy New Year. Love your frosty photos
I could have sworn I’d left a Happy New Year comment here already, but clearly I haven’t, so Happy New Year, and may 2015 bring you only good things x
Happy New Year, Anne! Beautiful frost- filled images. I only look back to go forward 🙂 xo