Post-festive motivation is lacking…

With Christmas and New Year well and truly over, and with a national lockdown on us again, we should really be ready to start smashing through the to-do list, getting everything ready for when we’re allowed to have people visit again. But our motivation has well and truly gone, and instead we’re distracting ourselves by exploring the local area on foot, and rewriting our to-do lists while avoiding actually getting anything done. 

Not that our walks aren’t technically work. We’re trying out a number of routes of different lengths and gradients that John’s mapped, with the intent of including potential walks in the cottages, with interesting things to see (think little hamlets of old buildings, or a beautiful chocolate-box thatched cottage) or steep walks that test your fitness but reward you with incredible views across the valleys at the top. And we’ve even met a couple of people from our local villages on the way – it’s amazing how much a ‘city princess’ dog in a fleece and fluorescent coat stands out in the country and how many people recognise us as locals once they’ve seen her a few times :) 

At least the most recent blockers are starting to clear – our dining room lamp finally arrived (after having been stuck first at customs coming from the Netherlands, and then with a delivery company who ‘failed’ to recognise our address); we have some beautiful side light holders made by a lovely neighbour from local oak; and the windowsills are now Xmas-light free and available to paint again.  

And we really need to make the most of the dry weather and start pruning the orchard – although having never done this before, and not being able to get expert advice from the family in person, this is much harder than it sounds! The last thing we want to do is to over-prune the trees and limit fruiting next year; or under-prune them and leave crossed branches that end up causing disease. Maybe tomorrow will be warmer and a better day to start…