Our lane is now passable with a four-wheel drive, but apart from avalanches that roar like thunder from the thatch, thumping to the ground, there is little sign of a thaw.
Geese are such resilient birds. Within the fox-proof fence they are open to the elements, and have prospered for eight or nine years without so much as a shed, just a bath refilled weekly and a fresh bowl of water every day. The bath is frozen, but thawed water is essential for them to preen their insulating, waterproof feathers, and, with the consolation of an increased ration of corn, they’re not remotely upset by the weather. The chickens, by contrast, hate it. They take it in turns to emerge from the pop hole of their house, out onto the ladder, then cluck in disgust and go back inside.
Six inches of snow blankets the beehives. I’m glad for the extra insulation as it will freeze again tonight. The vegetable garden looks comfortably tucked up, apart from one tunnel that has collapsed onto the plants, the fleece having disappeared, indiscernible under a layer of white.
In the ornamental garden a few of the evergreens have suffered from the major dump. Azara serrata has a broken branch, but the box spheres, flattened into cushions, soon sprung back with a gentle kick and a shake.
3 comments:
Fun comment above.......
Anyway, hope the thaw has started and the snowdrops flower :O)
Right Armageddon outa here :O)
D
My chickens refused point blank to even step so much as a toe onto the snow. Thankfully the last of it melted a couple of days ago so they're back outside. I'm not expecting to see any eggs for a while though!
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