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Wow! Two months have whizzed by and I've barely posted anything! What happened?! Well.....largely I think I just have a tendency to hibernate at this time of year but I can feel myself waking up and post ideas beginning to flow again but I just wanted to re-start by saying 'sorry for suddenly disappearing'. Steemit and the steemit community are fab and I'm sorry to have inadvertently ducked out of it for a while!

So what has @monkeygentle been doing?! Well......partly I just really lost my mojo with the photography. I don't know why - I guess my favorite subjects (macro insects) disappeared for winter but also I have phases where I can't seem to take a decent photo. They all look over exposed and out of focus. Also post ideas just stopped appearing in my head! They seem to be re-appearing though and I've managed some nice photos so The Happy Snappy Ecologist will appear again!

Despite feeling like hibernating I've also been rather busy. My home educated children both started school in September so I have a long school run twice a day. After the initial shock had worn off I find I like it. It feels good to be getting up and on with things early and I like the movement (mostly!). My eldest, having become a very independent, self-led learner has come out again and is continuing with her home education (with plans to join steemit having just turned 13). My youngest though is thriving with a fabulous teacher and really engaging in the beautiful activities a Steiner school has to offer. So with the logistics of one in and one out of school and being a bit more involved with the family business - life has been busy.

I also started learning Tai Chi and have got a little obsessed with it. Not that I spend ages practicing or anything but those times in the evening when I'd just pop online and look at steemit I have instead done some exercises. Whilst it's a shame to have not put so much into steemit recently it has felt very healthy to not spend so much time looking at a computer screen and I'm amazed by how much more positive and healthy I feel for doing even just a little more exercise. In the new year I am branching out and doing an 'introduction to aerial circus skills' course (so trapeze, silks etc). Really excited about this and maybe I'll share some photos - depending how much I actually manage to do on a trapeze!!

We have further changes coming in the New Year which will see me working on our organic fruit & veg stall at least one day a week and doing more admin and online work for the business. I'm determined to get at least one post written a week though and find a little time every day to make sure I continue to upvote the work of others and seek out new content to support. First I have a weeks holiday in Scotland to enjoy (hence the ice and hills!). So I think for this post that just leaves me to wish you all a very Happy New Year! May 2018 be a contented, happy and joyful year for you all.

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