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January brings with it a feeling of of new beginnings, and we certainly hope 2024 is a good one for all the No.fifty6 community. The star this month has been the weather, ever changeable, defining the landscape. After a mild December, the temperatures plunged for most of January. Minus 10 on some nights and below freezing some days too with freezing rain. We had a considerable dump of snow mid month, which is more unusual these days. While it brings a new beauty to the landscape  it disrupts for a day or two.  It was lovely though to put the boots on and walk with the crunch of snow underfoot the only sound. So peaceful. Then a period of wetter and windy weather followed and the snow disappeared, but at month end it is more stable, with some blue sky days but still chilly. 

During January there is a stark beauty to the landscape here, it is laid bare and invites you in to explore even on the coldest day. David says it is the best time to see the historic landscape as the contours and topography are clearly visible. No crops to spoil the view.  Trench runs in the woods become visible, without their cover of undergrowth. Our walks take on a new dimesion as we spot new things, a shell hole here, a bunker there.

And in January, no matter the weather, the farmers continue to work, ploughing, seeding, and already some areas already have a green thin coat, new life emerging. Others have a rich deep brown of furrows of life-giving soil.

So as we trudged in snow and thought about all the history around us, the beautiful landcape and the cyclical nature of life around here, we couldn’t help but think of Wilfred Owen’s beautiful poem: