Monday 5th January 2026 - Boxing Day Dip, Cold and Keeping Busy

There wasn’t an organised Boxing Day Dip in Overstrand this year.  As it turned out, if there had been it would not have gone ahead. With winds and high seas, all the dips along this stretch of the coast, including Sheringham’s New Year Day Dip, were cancelled. 

Since Christmas, for the most part, it has been bitterly cold. The last couple of days, I’ve been taking a kettle of hot water out to pour into the bird bath to melt the ice, after which, I’ve broken the ice on the surface of the pond with a pole.  Despite the cold, there have been good spells of sunshine to brighten the days.  This morning it snowed; this laid for quite a few hours before the thaw set in around midday.  If it freezes tonight, which it probably will, care will need to be taken by both drivers and pedestrians on the icy roads and pavements.   The chill of the wind has meant the temperature ‘real feel’ has been between -5 and -7°C.  I am so thankful we have central heating and an electric blanket.

A lot of the berries and fruits etc, I kept in our fridge, to keep them looking fresh and plump, prior to setting up Overstrand Life’s tree in the church on the 13^th December.  I was glad I did because by the time we took the tree down on the 27^th, most had started to dry out and shrivel, with the crab apples showing brown patches.  Our Christmas decorations came down on the 2^nd January and these have been stored away, ready to bring out again later this year.

Our vegetable seeds, ordered at the end of the year, have been delivered.  I’ve produced a planting list, sown our tomato seeds in pots along with a second sowing of onions.  This was followed by collating and printing both my blogs and glogs (garden logs) for 2025.  I had to smile when I read my glog for 11^th July when in the height of summer, I wrote ‘This is not exactly garden related but I wanted to write about the early mornings.  Currently, the weather is amazing, making these so special.  If I’m awake, which I often am, around three thirty I can see the sky taking on colours of red and orange, as the sun starts to rise.  With the windows open the first bird song is from the blackbirds.  Depending on the tides, I can hear the throb of the engines on the local fishing boats, as they head out to haul pots of crabs and lobsters.  It’s almost magical, something to experience to appreciate fully.  If I read this in the depths of winter when days are short and it’s cold, this will remind me of what I enjoyed and hopefully will do so again in the coming summer.’  Yes, hopefully I will be able to repeat this in 2026.  Next on the list, is to go through last year’s photos and decide which to keep and title and those to delete.

Today’s photo, taken on Christmas Day, shows the bare branches of a tree, along a field edge.  The tree is sleeping through the cold months, building strength ready to produce fresh green leaves in the spring.