Midwinter has passed, and with it, the counting down of the days towards the light. Visitors have now left and the cottage seems eerily quiet…somewhere in the stone walls I can hear a mouse scrambling about. The cats are sleeping off their party food, including creamy custard from the sherry trifle, and are ensconced on top of the straw bales in the barn. This was my first opportunity to get out into the gardens and observe the flow of the water through the ponds after all the heavy rain of recent days. The weather has been very warm with heavy…