Mid-winter solstice day.
It's the mid-winter solstice day, more-or-less. OK, silly weather. What's up? Raging southerly gales yesterday, a few limp snow flurries this morning, then look! Up there - a patch of blue sky! Ha ha - fooled you. Here's some sleet...
Friday 21st June
I should be dancing around my bonfire in a silly solstice ritual. But the rubbish is too wet, and the temperature is a bit grim (two degrees Celsius and wind-chilly). I'm afraid that today will be my second day in a row spent mainly indoors. My dog Rusty and I have already been down to the hay barn to feed Lilli-Puss, and we will now go for a walk down the road.
Just a Bit of Snow
These are my giving-thanks walks. I wear my full nasty-weather gear, and I think about the few times when I've been 'caught out' in bad, cold weather in the mountains. Then I think sadly of those who weren't able to get to the safety of a hut. Then I think of my warm house, just half-an-hour away down a straight road, and all the firewood I've collected and stacked. My winter reward. Nice. Rusty is less thoughtful - he zig-zags around all the puddles, and pees on every marker post.
A Bit of a Flood
A Bit Later...
We were surprised to meet another woman-out-walking-with-dog. 'Aren't we good?' I shouted at her face, almost invisible inside parka hood. 'Mad!' she shouted back, as the icy wind roared and whined in the trees.
Right. Before I organise my indoor life, I would like to remind the snow that it is forecast to fall above 100 metres. My garden lies at elevation 95 metres above sea-level. Get your maths right!
And stop teasing and flirting with my garden. In fact, just stop! I would much rather be gardening.
Not a Weather Blog...
I would also like to point out that I try to keep a gardening journal, not a weather blog. In other words, there should be happy, naturally occurring gardening topics to write about. With some cheerful, busy photographs, and stories about exciting new plants - even a gardening list would help.
The Water Race, Mid-Winter
My snow-and-cold-rain obsession is getting really annoying. Funny how it's hard to think about anything else...
Birds :- Enjoy my photographs taken last winter of the birds feeding.
Good bird news - today yet more birds (finches, sparrows, and some wax-eyes) are fluttering around the bird feeder, feasting. It's bitterly cold for the littlest birds, so hopefully they'll bring their friends, who will bring their friends, and so on. Naturally all the cats are safely lounging inside, in front of 'their' log burner.
And just think - as from tomorrow, the days will be getting longer. It's the beginning of the garden's slow, sneaky journey towards summer. Now that makes my gardening heart dance...