Weather

It’s all good here. About 2C and a weak, watery sun. Days are lengthening too which has bought four hens into lay.
Even the wind is just a moderate breeze which is a rare event here.
The shopkeeper here thinks I’m incredibly healthy because of me buying two bags of spinach per week. Can’t bring myself to tell her it all goes to the chickens.
My Dickies waterproof quilted onesy which I bought from Amazon, is proving to be a really good investment. Warm and toasty even with just a tee-shirt under it. Totally recommend it to all those who feel a bit chilly out there.
 
The West & N/West has a lot of snow, as has some of the midlands, but (so far, fingers & toes crossed!) we've escaped! We've had heavy rain all day today, and there's freezing temps and a possibility of snow tonight though. If it freezes, the roads will be jolly tomorrow, everything is so wet now! It's just over 1C at the moment (4.25pm), but there's a very strong and bitterly cold wind out there! I've told mum that we'll have to see what the conditions are like in the morning. She has a doctor's appointment, but it's an hour's round trip for me to get in to her and home, and if the roads are bad, I don't want to be driving my little lightweight car on country roads - apart from which, mum's partly disabled, but would have to walk with her crutches down her sloping entrance to the car, as she keeps her gate locked. I'd be terrified of her falling. The reason she's partly disabled is because of the severity of her osteoporosis, and the reason for her doctor's appointment is that the hip that hasn't broken & been replaced, is giving her a lot of pain recently! Tbh, unless it breaks under her as the other one did, there's little they can do, and she's doing pretty well for her age and state of health. But I'd rather not take chances with her walking with crutches on icy footpaths!
 
Osteoporosis is dreadful my mum has it, since she broke her leg a few years ago stepping down from a bus, she wont go out of the house.
It was -6 here last night, paths and roads very slippery and very foggy from 5-7am. Snow is forecast tonight but it does look as though we may miss the worst of it. My day off tomorrow luckily so if it is bad I don't have to worry.
 
Minus 4 here last night, got up to plus 4 this afternoon. Half an hour of snow yesterday morning which had disappeared in the sun two hours later although it's still hanging about in the sunless areas. Supposed to snow here in 5 minutes time, but my sister in S. Wales has been waiting all afternoon for it to snow and there's still nothing!
 
Drinkers froze solid last night but changed them before the girls (and Linden) got off the perch. One perfect blue egg yesterday - first of the year :D
 
I've had frozen water for 3 days now! - poor me.

This morning is a white out, everything covered in snow, and still currently snowing.

Yesterday morning, squeezing between a tree trunk, the hut and the fence, I found a cache of large eggs, in a hollow in the ground behind the hut, and about Croad size - a small crater filled with about 18 eggs. So my girls have been laying pointlessly for me, egg boxes abandoned.

In the afternoon another egg was laid, which I rescued.

Yesterday also, the new Leghorns and the little Legbar decided to join the big girls, and were allowed to very graciously.
 
You describing the hollow in the ground containing eggs Valerie reminds me of an article this morning on French TV all about potholes in London roads- the French for a pothole is 'nid de poule' or in English 'chicken nest'.

In sharp contrast to last night when we had 12 hours of rain, about 3", it is lovely and sunny today. Tomorrow is another matter and, very unusually, they forecast snow here overnight. Just as bad as England really- a little snow and everything stops, particularly as they don't use road gritters here.
 
2" here overnight, enough to shut the schools. Why did it never happen when I was a teacher? It seemed to be accepted that teachers would live within walking distance of the school and we all struggled in, spent the day indoors with restless children because the caretaker would grumble about the kids if they came in with snow on their shoes. Steady procession up the road today of kids towing sledges in the icy drizzle. At least they're not bunking off - when the schools didn't close at the first snowflake, the older children from the comprehensive used to set out in their uniforms, and once out of sight of parents, pick up the sledges they had concealed overnight and go off for a day's fun. Probably did them more good than lessons.
Our granddaughter lives in deepest Dorset and goes to a school with a very wide rural catchment, so she was delighted today to learn that all the school buses had been cancelled. Nice long weekend ahead.
 
Well off course kids could easily slip, break a collar bone and die of exposure. That’s the ones who aren’t driven to school in Chelsea tractors or grabbed by paedophiles. But then with attention deficit rates soaring in line with allergies etc what’s a parent to do. Oh, hang on, most of these things are no more common than they ever were.
What has happened is that parents are more litigious and kids are mollycoddled and spend too long in front of screens and too little time out there doing kid type things.
But then as someone who has no allergies, has not suffered from ADD or been grabbed by a paedophile I would say that wouldn’t I. Maybe that is so but I’d also say it because it’s plain, common sense.
 
I've read that the Inuit people have many words for different types of snow. Most of the day here, it's been very fine snow, what would be fine drizzle if it were above freezing. I suggest Snizzle? It waited until I needed to do the hens and then came on heavily, and by the time we'd taken the dog out it had covered the paths I'd cleared and salted in the morning. Desperate crowds of birds on the feeders and clearing up successive portions of seed for ground feeders.
 
Nary a flake!
Torrents of rain last night, and gale force winds. Temps were very low, so I was surprised this morning when, although the temp still seemed to be below freezing, there wasn't even any frost, and the car window was clear! Maybe because of the wind? I'm so near the coast, it ws probably salt-laden! So there was no problem with taking mum to the doctor's appointment.
 
I remember walking to school through deep snow, if teachers didn't turn up classes were just put together in the hall for the day. We did get indoor playtime though. But I do remember having to do a scheduled cross country run in snow once.
Started snowing about 9pm last night. Woke up to steady dripping outside and steady rain and a positively tropical 4C which crept up to 7C at one point
 
-4 this morning, with a heavy frost, although it seems to be thawing now. Still very cold though, but bright sunshine.
 
Yep, for a second year running we’ve watched the news and seen you all struggling whilst we’ve had only a scattering. Still plenty of winter left yet though.
It does amaze me though that despite the accurate predictions there are still people who go out with no emergency clothing, shovel or food. And when their interviewed on the TV they make out like they’re hero’s. The word I’d use cannot be expressed on an open forum! But they’re a ? short of a ?.
 
I did go out in the snow yesterday equipped with a chainsaw, but I don't have an emoticon for that! Snow gave way to heavy rain, in which I had to take two consecutive chainsaw exams. I was soaked through to the undies by the time I got home!!! Euchh!
 
I'm in awe of you, getting as far as taking chainsaw exams. I wouldn't even know how to start the thing, and would be terrified I'd cut my head off. Are you going to become a tree surgeon? Well done, anyway. It sounds horrendous!
 
Marigold said:
I'm in awe of you, getting as far as taking chainsaw exams. I wouldn't even know how to start the thing, and would be terrified I'd cut my head off. Are you going to become a tree surgeon? Well done, anyway. It sounds horrendous!
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Me too! And I'm envious of your chainsaw skills! With the amount of hedges & trees here, I could do with being able to use one, but they terrify me! My son in law has a garden maintenance business and uses them all the time. So in theory, he does all the chainsaw work for me. In practise, he's usually too busy!

Yesterday, although it was so cold here, it was a lovely bright, sunny day, and I decided that rather than drive somewhere for a walk, I'd just walk to the village and back - a round trip of about 10Km . I was pretty tired by the time I got home (all uphill on the way home!), but I at least felt justified in sitting on my backside with my knitting for the afternoon! :D
 
in a nearby village a few years ago, a man was out in his garden doing some pruning when he staggered in to the living room through the french windows, having bent down over his chainsaw and accidentally cut his throat. Not good for the carpet.
 
I'm not keen on chainsaws either and prefer to cut manually with a Silky saw if possible- certainly when up a ladder. You can buy the small chainsaws on poles here very cheaply, without a licence, but for higher branches we use a Silky pole saw. Whilst hand cutting is slower it is far safer and quiet. For those not familiar with Silky products they are Japanese steel chemically hardened- they can't be sharpened but rarely go blunt, although they can break if mis-used. Use with care as they will cut straight through leather gloves.

It's sunny but cold here, with a strong NW wind. Winter weather is predicted for a further three weeks, so -4C tonight and again all the drinkers need emptying.
 
Tree surgeons would usually much rather use a silky saw head, lopper and poles than go up the tree with ladder or rope. Its not usually even that much slower, if you factor in the time it would take to get in a safe working position off the ground. Can be wearing on the arms though.
Well done Icemaiden. Everyone who uses a chainsaw should take the exams and wear the PPE. They are quite safe if used properly but crossing the red line is very unforgiving!
 
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