February is a funny old month isn’t it? We’re ricocheting wildly between screaming winds and sheets of rain and clear blue skies and gentle breezes. Until now, I’ve always considered February a bit of a depressing month, but I’m actually quite enjoying this one.
What’s changed? Nothing major, really. I haven’t been in education for years, so February doesn’t mean getting a week off school for half-term, and I didn’t book my usual trip to Scandinavia this month, so it’s not like my mind is brimming with fresh memories of fresh snow and cold air and pastries.
But what has happened is the way I’m looking at ordinary things. The crocuses are out early this year, and the carpets of snowdrops always make me smile. I’ve seen blossom already, pink and waiting to burst, and last night I saw the garden teeming with woodlice who finally found it warm enough to venture out from their hiding places.
As I said, nothing is really different. These things happen every year. I’ve always liked spending a lot of time on my own, and this really helps me notice these small changes in the world. Spring is one of my favourite times of year, because I love the new life and the colours. I’ve always found summer overrated (and my sunburnt skin always agrees), but spring is juicy and saturated with pink, blue, green, cool mornings, poetic rain showers and wispy clouds.
Is there a point to this post? Not especially – it’s just a small way for me to show my appreciation of what I now understand to be an underrated little month. I guess in a way, my point is that I was too stubborn to enjoy everything February has to offer – until now. I haven’t been seeking out opportunities for hygge (I never do – it wouldn’t work anyway), but as it should, it’s come to me organically – with the sunshine coaxing out my freckles across my nose, and the grass drying out for long enough to let me sit down and think about nothing important for a while. But equally, the reflection of the streetlights in the wet concrete, and navigating around the little pools of mud everywhere.
I’m happy I got to appreciate it now so I don’t keep wasting my Februarys.
Hello Hygge 
Lovely. Inspiring in its gentleness.
Aww, thank you so much!
Hello from Scandinavia! It is definitely winter here, with snow falling and icy streets. One more month to go. What would you enjoy most on your February visit to Scandinavia?
Oh that sounds so pretty (I’m a bit scared of icy streets though, I’m very clumsy and lose my balance easily)! I miss the snow, and warming up in a cosy cafe with a hot drink, and the dark evenings, and the chance of seeing the Northern Lights (if I’m far north enough)… all of it!
Icy streets are perfect for the balance practice :)) It sounds so romantic to sip warm drinks in cosy cafes, and it’s good to do as a visitor. But as we live here, doing this in the 5 months of winter will make us into donuts, so we have to stay a bit on the icy streets to keep in shape 🙂 so fun to see what different people miss. Like I would never miss snow and darkness, but maybe, if I lived in the South, I would…
I love the promise of February. (Slightly) brighter mornings and evenings but still snuggle weather.
Yes! It’s exciting leaving work when there are still a few smudges of sunlight left in the sky 🙂