January, the gateway to a brand new year

January brings the snow
Makes our feet and fingers grow.
From The Months by Sara Coleridge (1802-1852)

January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is represented with two faces looking in opposite directions, as retrospective to the past, and prospective to, the coming year.

When I was eight Father Christmas brought me my first bike. It was pale blue and had a bell. It was beautiful. It was a hard Winter and we had a lot of snow. Of course that brought great excitement and delight and I spent a lot of time building snowmen, having snow ball fights. I especially liked looking out of the window at dusk. safe indoors with a roaring fire and the countryside turning to pale blue, like my bike. I'd think about all the little animals and birds hurrying home and watch for their footprints in the snow next morning. I loved the snow, but it meant that I couldn't learn to ride my bike. As it was brand new and the wheels were clean we kept it on show in the kitchen until I could be persuaded to put it in the garage. My mum always did things gently and in stages. So eventually she probably said something along the lines of maybe my bike could make friends with my brother's bike or the roller skates.
That Winter I learedn to put out bacon rind for the Bluetits, make sure the water for the birds wasn't frozen over and o put out crumbs of bread early in day for the birds.

We have had lots of snow this year too and it is cold enough to stop it melting. It's a beautiful sight at sunset, but wrap up warm. Thanks to thermal underwear and microfiber suitable clothes are easily found.  Baden-Powell. the founder of the scout movement  said that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. So make some hearty soup or my Snowy day stew and go out in your colourful clothing in the snow.

Here is my poem for the day from the Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser  (1552 - 1599) you remember ' The allegory of Tudor England '

' Then came old January, wrapped well
In many weeds to keep the cold away
Yet - did he quake and quiver like to quell
And blew his nayles to warm them if he may;
For they were numbed with holding all the day;
An hatchet keene, with which he felled wood
And from the trees did lop the needlesse spray.

January sayings

Janiveer, freeze the pot upon the fire

A wet January
a wet Spring

The blackest month of all the year
Is the month of Janiveer

If the grass does grow in Janiveer
It grow the worse for it, all the year


It was April before I learnt to ride my bike.

January sunset

January walk

January Fairy in the snow