Snow

I always feel as though the end of January ought to mean the beginning of spring, and always tend to be a bit disappointed when, generally, it isn't.

This was no exception, and we ended the month with a surprising amount of snow. It started falling late afternoon on Thursday 31st and carried on snowing without stopping for almost 24 hours.



I spent some time in the back garden, watching Loki playing, and hunting snowflakes, which was cold but fun. 


Things got less fun, although no less cold, the following morning, when I spent a long time digging out my driveway, and had a cold and windy walk to check whether the main road was passable, before discovering that I had a flat tyre so couldn't go anywhere. ..   

(I do know how to change a tyre,  but due to the physical issues I have with my back, neck and shoulder, I can't,  now, do it  without causing myself significant pain, and I am not at all sure that I would be able to do it safely, and the middle of a snowstorm didn't seem to be the time to find out)

This meant that I wasn't able to get into work, so I did what I could from home, and in between,  watched the snow continuing to fall. By the time it finally stopped, we had had 11", which is unusual. It was also very cold - around -4 C during the day, and -7 overnight, and (presumably because of this) the snow was very soft and powdery.

By Saturday the main road was clear so despite being car-less I was able to get to London to meet a friend, via a walk, a long bus trip and a train. 

Sunrise over snow

Parade Gardens, Bath

I had about an hour to kill in Bath, which was looking rather nice, although there was a lot of compacted ice on the pavements.

Sunday involved a lot more digging, as the snow on the road had compacted into thick ice, assisting my neighbour change my tyre.



But there was also time to play with Loki in the snow. He was undeterred by the fact that it came up beyond his armpits, and he chose to go out even when he wasn't just following me. 

It was all very pretty, but I must be getting old, as when I woke up on Monday morning to find that it had rained all night, and that nearly all the sow was gone, I was relieved rather than disappointed!