by Veronika Sophia Robinson
I rather enjoy snuggling up on the sofa, with a good book and hot cuppa, and cuddles with the cats. Oh how easy it is to hibernate for months on end!
I’ve just come in from spending time in the garden, on this bitterly cold late November day, where I’ve been cutting back raspberry canes, and enjoying the fresh air. It was Baltic; and yet, that time in nature has replenished me. I’m a grandmother now and my parenting days seem far behind me. It’s made me reflect on all the fun ways we can celebrate Winter Outdoors. This article appeared in issue 6 of Starflower Living magazine.
Meet a Tree! Go for a guided blind-fold walk and meet a tree.
- Feel the bark
- Smell the leaves
- Listen to the sound it makes
- Wrap your arms around the tree
- Later, come back into the woods without the blindfold and see if you can find ‘your’ tree.
Snow Caterpillar
Form the shape of a caterpillar from snow, then add seeds, sticks and pinecones to create a face.
Cranberry and Popcorn Strings
Thread cranberries and popcorn onto string to hang from trees, both for decoration and for the birds to enjoy.
Snow Sculpture
You’ve built sandcastles, why not construct a snow castle?
Fairy Houses from Ice Moulds.
Freeze water (some with drops of food dye added) into various cake and cupcake moulds, then build fairy houses in the garden by using the different shapes for walls, rooves and domes.
Twig Tower
Gather together an armful of twigs, then build a tower.
Journey Stick
Using a robust stick as your base, gather items from your Winter walk and glue them to the stick to tell the story of your journey.
Noughts and Crosses
Create a large grid in the snow, and then play noughts and crosses using pine cones for noughts and two sticks to make a cross.
Stick Weaving
Tie two sticks together so they form an ‘x’, then use different coloured wool or hemp to weave around, over and under, clockwise, until you’ve weaved up to the outer end of the sticks.
Ice Bubbles
Make bubbles from dishwashing liquid and water, then using a piece of circular wire or shop-bought plastic bubble blower, blow bubbles into the air. In icy weather, they’ll freeze midflight.
How to make ice art
Use ice to make a candle holder for a tealight, or artwork to hang from a tree or decorate the garden. They make beautiful gifts to leave on a neighbour’s doorstep in Winter!
You will need:
- A metal or plastic dish
And then add any of the following:
- feathers cypress branches
- twigs
- leaves
- holly berries
- pine cones
- chillies
- lemon slices
- rosehips
- holly leaves
- any fruit or vegetable: whole, sliced or grated.
Fill the dish with water, and arrange your objects. Leave outside overnight to freeze (or put in your freezer!) If you want to hang your art, you’ll need to insert a straw or pencil before freezing, so that you can thread some twine through.
