What Made Me Happy in 2025 | Week 7

Evening atmosphere at the lake, birds in unexpected places, decluttering - and guilty pleasures

Feb 17, 2025

I deeply enjoy giving attention to the good things I encounter throughout the day. They can come in all forms and be of all sorts. They can be inspiring or beautiful, laughing-out-loud funny or just silently stunning, kind, warm or moving, they can provide comfort or new insights.

They are seldom life-changing, but to focus on them day by day can become life-changing.

I’ve chosen JOY as my word for this year and I’d love to share with you what made me happy in the past week.

Evening atmosphere at the lake

View over Lake Rantzau at dusk, cloudy, leafless trees, reflection on the water

Sometimes it’s just lovely to fit in a walk just before dusk.

It was freezing cold, though, especially the wind made it quite uncomfortable to be outside. On one side of the lake there’s no shelter from trees or bushes, just plain fields, and the wind can really pick up speed there.

But I enjoyed the walk around the lake because especially with the light it was such a calm and beautiful atmosphere. I had the scenery almost to myself.

It was fun to be blown through by the wind, it cleared my head, and coming home to warm up again with a nice cup of tea feels even better after a walk like this.

I was also gifted with some unusal bird sightings. There were the usual mallards and the swan family, of course, and you won’t be able to miss the large flock of wild geese, which were already making their way in groups to the harvested maize field and perhaps getting ready for the night. They always make a spectacle with their loud trumpeting and the kind of rasping sound of their wings.

However, I also saw two great crested grebes (a rather rare sight) and a cormorant. I‘ve never seen one on our small river or the lake before! Such a special sighting! I enjoyed watching it, but it dived off when I tried to take a picture. It seemed to be a long-distance diver, because when it popped up again, it was far up the river.

Well, I didn’t mind, on this walk the water birds were all too fast for my cold fingers trying to take pictures with my smartphone anyway. And to be honest, it’s so much nicer to just enjoy what you see instead of trying to take pictures of everything.

A heron

Speaking of birds in unexpected places … (Some of you might have already seen the picture on Notes last week.)

There are the birds I usually see when I look out of our kitchen window - blackbirds on the roofs and chimneys, sparrows and tits hopping on and off, in and out of the hedges, always in a hurry.

And then there are the exceptions. Like a heron on the neighbour’s roof. Call that an unexpected sighting! At first I thought it wasn't real!

It stayed there for quite a while, watching the neighbourhood - and particularly the fish in the pond in the adjacent garden, I suppose. It made itself comfortable over time and even retracted its neck. It looked like a different bird altogether.

The heron returned every day for four or five days. Once I even managed to watch it arrive. Such an amazing view with this wingspan and its elegance. Beautiful! It really made me smile.

Well, I assume, the small pond is empty of fish by now, and the heron is looking for snacks somewhere else …

Sorting out books and movies

Although I’m more on the minimalistic side when it comes to possessions and buying new stuff, I enjoy sorting out the things I still have from time to time.

I look at clothes, books, DVDs or other items and decide whether I still need them and/or whether they make me happy. At the weekend, I sorted out my books and our movies. This time I got rid of a few movies that I don’t enjoy any more, some childrens’s books which I had kept mainly for research of the writing style - and lots of comic books.

I’m not a comic book reader or enthusiast per se, but I’ve loved the stories of Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, their family and foes since I was child. I really enjoyed the Duck universe, and I still had Donald Duck pocket books and Mickey Mouse comics magazines from the 1980ies. I’m not a nostalgic or sentimental person, but the stories still made me smile or laugh. (Don’t we all have a guilty pleasure?)

Some years ago, I visited a travelling exhibition called Duckomenta in Hamburg. It exhibits paintings and sculptures modelled on famous works, except that the figures depicted are ducks in the style of Donald Duck. Occasionally there are also mouse figures in the style of Mickey Mouse. It was really cool and quite funny!

But things that make me laugh change, and after over 40 years, their time has come: I’ve now parted with all (but one) of my Duckverse comic books.

Biathlon World Championships in Switzerland

Speaking of guilty pleasures, I really can’t explain why I’m so captivated by biathlon of all sports. It’s the only one I watch and the only one I’m really excited about, I enjoy the complex sport and the challenge of fast cross-country skiing and precise rifle shooting. (Inexplicable, as I don’t go near guns of all sorts - at all.) But I’ve been a fan of this sport for over 25 years and it hasn’t come to an end yet.

Every season I am really excited and while watching the races I don’t think about anything else, I’m just in the present and enjoy myself and watching the athletes. Sport is emotion, and it’s lovely to feel and share the rollercoaster of emotions and forget about everything else for an hour or two. I like the unexpected victories just as much as other beautiful stories that sport (any sport) sometimes writes.

The Biathlon World Championships in Switzerland have started last week and I had some fun and exciting hours.

Of course, I was very pleased about Germany’s Franziska Preuß’ performance winning three medals in three races (and having more opportunities for good races this upcoming week). But I also cheered for Suvi Minkkinen from Finland winning her first medal ever or Lena Häcki-Groß from Switzerland being so close to one for the first time, but being all smiles anyway. I was impressed by (former New Zealand, now) US biathlete Campbell Wright who delivered two amazing performances to earn himself two silver medals and who’s so laid-back and easygoing and so successful with that mindset. So cool!

Looking forward to the second week of the Championships while organising my day around the races. Guilty pleasure maybe, but if it makes you happy, why not? :)

Until next time and have a lovely week!

Claudia

Curious about my previous weeks? Read on …

What Made Me Happy in 2025