The View It Is A-Changing

As we approach our first summer at the ‘glorified shed’, I’m aware of how much the rural landscape has changed over recent weeks.

My immediate view of the river, that runs just metres from my window, has been somewhat obscured by the leafy growth of bushes and trees along the edge, which now allow only for mere glimpses of swans, herons and egrets that frequent the water and opposite bank. In turn, the birdlife has changed, with only the seldom appearance of the once numerous cormorants and not the slightest glimpse of a lapwing or redshank in weeks!

The garden area, which burst into life with its spectacular blossoms in the midst of spring, has now become awash with green, interspersed with brightly coloured roses and the golden offerings of the laburnum tree.

And of course the surrounding fields have changed too, many have been filled with the vibrant yellow of oilseed rape (although now being replaced with swathes of green), with its pungent aroma and tendency to trigger my hay fever. Indeed, we’ve all noticed an increase in sniffles since moving to our rural home, a slight downside of country living, but one far outweighed by the benefits of the new lifestyle.

The country lanes have become harder to negotiate, with hedgerows and trees encroaching more on the roads, causing motorists to exercise more caution – and that’s not a bad thing at all!

Once we’ve experienced our first summer here, we'll have had a taste of all the seasons in our rural retreat, each of them bringing a different aspect to the landscape which I’ve loved. The ever-changing wildlife, diversity of colour and altering moods of the river all keep me interested in our rural surroundings.

A Country Spring

I’ve always enjoyed trips out in the countryside, especially in spring.

As a child, a Sunday afternoon treat on a sunny day was a drive out into the Kentish countryside to see whatever the current seasonal attraction may be – bluebell woods, primrose-strewn grassy banks, fields of lambs or budding hedgerows. The rest of the time we led a typical urban lifestyle.

For years my life has been town based, with a sprinkling of forays into the countryside for high days and holidays. I enjoyed every moment of my rural stays in Wales, Yorkshire and Cornwall and found myself feeling extremely ‘hemmed in’ on my return.

Certainly day-to-day life consisted of urban activities and journeys, with occasional countryside jaunts being welcome, but not always frequent enough.

This year however, things are different. We’re experiencing our first spring in our rural based ‘glorified shed’. Now every journey we make involves travelling through the countryside – we’re surrounded by it!

Whether we jump in the car, hop on a bus or just go for a stroll, we pass farms, woodland, fields of sheep and horses and generally expanses of open green space in whichever direction we travel. In fact we don’t even have to leave home to experience the whole country scene, just by looking out of the window we can see the river, common land and distant hills. We certainly don’t need to go on Sunday drives to experience the countryside and we have no inclination to reverse the process and go for a drive to town!

You would even think that when planning our first holiday since moving here we’d chose a very different environment. But no! We’ve booked a stay in another rural location, just in a different part of this green and pleasant land.

This spring we’re revelling in the delights of our new surroundings. It is indeed our first country spring!

Welcoming Spring

Well we’ve survived our first winter in the ‘glorified shed’, although it was hardly a severe winter, for which we were thankful. In our area we only glimpsed the odd stray flake of snow, and although we experienced some chilly nights and frosty mornings, our make-do heating arrangements saw us through.

 

Walls and a roof severely lacking insulation, single-glazed windows from the 1960s that have definitely seen better days and ill-fitting, draughty doors were certainly set against us, but movable oil-filled radiators and a supply of thick jumpers helped us to manage the cold.

Now as the weather brightens with the arrival of spring, we are making plans to insulate the building and install a wood-burning stove ready for next winter. All we need now is to put the plans into action.

Meanwhile, in the garden things are coming to life. Daffodils, tulips and crocuses are making a welcome appearance. The number of birds I see increases daily, with more goldfinches and greenfinches visiting for food and a pair of blue tits taking up residence in the nesting box. I’ve spotted a treecreeper and a woodpecker in the garden, whilst on the river, the number of cormorants has increased and I’m hoping to soon see the return of the egrets that were regular visitors last year.

Progress on the building work may have been slow so far, but hopefully the arrival of spring will give us just the boost that we need!

Keeping Warm

As the weather chills down, we’re aware of the odd draughts and scant insulation in the former workshop that we now call home.

We soon realised that addressing the subject of heating should be given some priority, to enable us to comfortably survive the winter ahead of the main renovation work starting next spring.

The building still contains the original radiators and boiler – although these would need an overhaul – but the oil tank that would formerly have been used to store the oil to run them no longer exists. We did consider installing a new one, but are not sure whether this will be our final choice for heating – we may go for a more energy efficient, eco-friendly system – and will have to think about this over the coming months.

We therefore decided to come up with a temporary heating arrangement that currently consists of a selection of small, portable, plug-in, oil-filled radiators, and an electric fire with faux log effect. In fact, using the log effect setting even without the heat is sometimes enough to kid us into feeling warm and toasty. As it chills further, we’ll make use of the small radiators and will invest in a couple more should the need arise.

Of course, we can also employ more traditional methods of keeping warm: layering our clothing (I have a good line in fluffy jumpers and cosy tops): using hot water bottles to warm beds; drinking lots of warming beverages (and the odd tot of something stronger); I’ve even made a draught excluder out of pompoms!

Over the years we’ve become too accustomed, as have many of us, to living in homes that are kept constantly cosy due to central heating. Yet as I child, I grew up (for the first seven years at least) in a house that had nothing more than a gas fire in the living room and a coal fire in the ‘back room’. During a particularly cold winter, my dad invested in a small paraffin heater that we could position wherever it was most needed – I can still remember the smell! Despite all of this, I still recall waking up to find a thin layer of ice on the bedroom windows!

Of course, we eventually moved to a new house with central heating, and became dependent on the warmth of such systems that we’ve relied on ever since.

So as we head towards our first winter in our new, almost home, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a mild one, but trying to condition our bodies to accept lower temperatures just in case!

Autumn Leaves

Although autumn is by no means my favourite season of the year (that accolade goes to spring, when I get a fresh injection of optimism for the year), there are certain things about it that I do quite enjoy.

This year, I’m even more aware of the changing of the seasons, living in my new rural location. I’ve always loved the colours of autumn, the deep reds and golds of the leaves can be magnificent, and this year I’m certainly surrounded by enough trees to see plenty of these. I must also admit that I love swishing my way through large piles of dry leaves and hearing the satisfying crunch that they make. This comes second only to walking on an expanse of virgin snow, which offers a blank canvas of opportunity and a reassuring ‘crump’.

From a less colourful point of view, it’s sad to see the surrounding fields transformed from the lush greens and pale golds of the summer, to the dull, universal brown created by the necessary ploughing. But I’m extremely fortunate to be surrounded by such an expanse of countryside with all of its colours, textures, sights and sounds, whatever they may be.

The view from my window

Of course with the autumn comes the chilling down of temperatures and the more blustery winds. I confess to absolutely hating strong winds, so maybe being surrounded by trees with the river immediately on my doorstep doesn’t sound the best place to be at times like this, but hey, we have to take the rough with the smooth!

It’s also fair to say that a draughty old workshop isn’t the first place you’d choose to spend chilly nights, but we have plans in place to keep the cold at bay, and will hopefully cope through not only the autumn, but the winter too.

My first autumn in my new, almost home, will certainly be an experience!