FOUR DAYS IN WINTER

On Sunday morning we awoke to a deep frost.

It was very pretty but bitterly cold.

The frost clung to everything making beautiful patterns.

On Monday we awoke to snow and an even deeper frost.

Frost upon frost.

It's unusual to have snow that lingers for more than a few hours here.

We're glad to have plenty of food in the freezer and plenty of wood in the woodshed.

More by luck than good management.  

This is the first time we remember such a long spell of frost and snow here.

It is very cold.

We have to keep both wood burning fires going to keep the house warm.

Later in the day on Monday, the sun came out.

It was all very pretty.

The roads were dry and perfectly safe to drive on.

We went for a drive to take some pictures. 

The moat at Le Châtelier was completely frozen.

There seemed to be quite a bit of warmth in the sunshine but not enough for the frost to thaw.

On Monday evening there was a beautiful sunset.

The next day, Tuesday, we braved the cold to go to the supermarket.

We left it until the afternoon when the roads had been used.

They had clearly been salted in most places.

We have been keeping the bird feeders stocked and the bird bath clear of ice.

The birds seem to appreciate it.  There are always plenty of customers.

Today, no pictures.  It's day four and we're glad we went to the shops yesterday.

We awoke to freezing rain.  

The roads were treacherous so we didn't venture out until much later when it all began to thaw, just enough.

During our confinement to indoors we have been tackling a very tricky jigsaw puzzle.

Yvonne is as always on hand to help.

It all brings back not so fond memories of winters in Derbyshire.

Time and again we would wake up to two or three feet of snow and would have to dig our way out in order to try to get to work.

The last person I worked for said that if I didn't get in before lunchtime I would have to take the day as part of my annual leave.

I replied that in that case I would stop digging and retired a few weeks later!

I absolutely do not miss the stress of having to get to work in the snow plus the worry of how on earth I would get home again.