DECEMBER - "Infant holy, infant lowly..."

Infant holy infant lowly
For His bed a cattle stall
Oxen lowing little knowing
Christ the babe is Lord of all
Swift are winging angels singing
Noels ringing tidings bringing
Christ the Babe is Lord of all
Christ the Babe is Lord of all

Flocks were sleeping
Shepherds keeping vigil
Till the morning new
Saw the glory heard the story
Tidings of a gospel true
Thus rejoicing free from sorrow
Praises voicing greet the morrow
Christ the Babe was born for you
Christ the Babe was born for you

In a manger He is lying
Who will greet Him as He sleeps
Baby Jesus infant Christ child
Who will greet Him as He sleeps
Angels winging praises singing
Noels ringing tidings bringing
Christ the Babe is Lord of all
Christ the Babe is Lord of all

Traditional Polish Christmas carol

Stempster 2025 on a magical December evening

Almost Christmas! The countryside around our home is snoozing. Those of our friends with four legs apiece, and tails, are waiting for nightfall to avail themselves of any offerings we may have made during the daylight hours - brief as they are! The birds wait each morning for the accumulated kitchen scraps of the day before. When they are finished they join the birds at one of the two feeding stations generously managed by the man of the house.

Blackcap

We rarely see the tree creepers but we know they like our wood. On the fifth of December there were two working together in order to denude a sycamore of its insects and spiders. On the same day we watched a blackcap at the feeding station in the little cottage garden. It looked quite bemused - almost as if it was wondering how it got there! 

Our regulars are equally welcome - the tiny ones and the bigger ones - although I still struggle to love the sparrowhawk when I watch it shredding a smaller bird! This happened two days ago when I spotted it sitting in the Swedish Whitebeam and then moving to the top of the stone wall behind it. It comes often at this time of the year - it has to eat like everything else - says I grudgingly - and we do encourage the smaller birds to visit the Stempster garden to partake of nourishment -  thereby creating a snack bar for sparrowhawks!!

Sparrowhawk

The river has been very high on occasions this month but so far we have seen no flooding. 

The winds won't let go for long - we think we're done with checking for storm damage and then the pressure goes down rapidly once again. 

It's all roundabouts and swings really. Just when we've had enough of strong winds or dreich weather, we can see the mountains again. On the way home from our Tuesday shopping trip this week we even thought we could make out Ben Stack. It was slightly warmer in Thurso than here. It seems that Caithness has its own small ecosystems and, in the two homes we have had in Caithness since 2009, we have been a part of two of those. 

When the night sky is colourful

This December blog is, of necessity, quite short. Before I complete my little report of December at Stempster, I would like to share a memory with you. 

As a small child, I was thrilled to receive the Christmas chocolates and biscuits given to my brother and me by the dear old folks who lived near us at Studcross Cottage in Epworth - the Gravel Family - and the ones who lived close to my paternal grandparents near Belshaw in Belton. Mrs Burgess, Mr and Mrs Kitson and Mr and Mrs Needham.

The delightful little tins and pretty icing - and the shiny wrappers were a part of my childhood Christmas.  As I grew up I found the jewel - coloured wrappers as exciting as their contents. Even quite recently I have chosen gifts with this in mind. Now, however, it's not so easy to find the prettily wrapped chocolates in characterful tins. I regret this - and then I'm reminded that these are some of the changes we must accept to make possible the reparation of our poorly planet. These are a part of the small sacrifices we must make for the sake of the environment.

Not all of the changes are gloomy though.

It saddens me that so many people hate wind turbines - when they are powering life-saving machinery and comfortable living in this country. 

I live at the edge of a wind farm in the far north of Britain - and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in the world!

Chaffie

In 2021, we came to look at Stempster House which was on the market and had been empty for a while.

Driving down to the valley and back out on the other side towards the house, I thought, "My goodness, they're huge!!" And they are! We drove closer and they began to look like guardian angels - tall, sharing the spring sunlight, wrapping themselves around the west side of the house and its land. We turned our backs on them as we walked onto the property - and forgot them. The rest, as they say, is history - Stempster House was love at first sight!

Once we had moved in, we began to realise that the wind turbines actually preserved the countryside. Because they are there, they give a free run to the mammals without the problem of roadkill - and, contrary to popular myth, there are no bird casualties. I suppose that when they were first erected, it took a while before the birds realised they needed to change course slightly but we can honestly say that we have never found a bird carcass by the turbines in all the time we have lived here. In fact, the oyster catchers choose to nest and rear their young right under the moving blade of the turbine closest to us. The huge family of pheasants, which spends time in our little wood, flies towards the turbines to escape the attentions of our spaniels, Orlando and Jess.

Our lovely wind farm

As to aesthetics - I love them - they please me. The Angel of The North at Gateshead has a special place in my heart but it is no beauty! The Kelpies at Falkirk are clever and fascinating but they can never be described as simple. I like simple!  

I'm looking forward to visiting the Bradford Tower of Now one day in the future. I'm told that it represents different cultures. Can't be bad! In a country where there is so much intolerance of races other than "pure whites", anything that draws us to celebrate our differences has to be good!

I'm going to follow the construction of the Star of Caledonia in the borders and will visit that too when it's completed. It is to celebrate Scottish innovation and is an international venture.

These large man-made structures, like the wind turbines close to my home, represent our past, our present and our future - bright beacons in a bleak time for these islands.

Two more wind farm photos

I hope your Christmas will bring you peace, love and hope - memories, joy in your celebrations and a sense of purpose for 2026.

"A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!"

Adolphe Adam "O Holy Night"

Happy Christmas from Stempster (tree with peace dec)