Snow

Yesterday I woke up to a new world. I tentatively peered round the bedroom curtain to see what sort of day lay ahead. The branches of the oaks outside were lined with white, as were the tops of the fences. The soil too was white. It was snowing.

We don’t get much snow here. We’ve not had any that has stuck any length of time for years. Yesterday though it snowed all morning. Although much melted immediately it stopped falling, even today there is whiteness all around. It’s no longer on tree branches or paths, but the lawn is still white with green trying to peer through. The whiteness of the world has been increased by the very heavy frost we had last night. All the cars in the street outside are white with only hints of the colour of the paintwork showing through.

I was amazed at one point yesterday when I stood at the open back door to hear the sheer volume of birdsong. What were they up to? They couldn’t afford wasting the energy on finding a mate. Food must be scarce – there’s no rootling in frozen lawns & beds for them. Are they just telling one another about a garden they’ve found with plenty of full feeders for them? Your guess is as good as mine.

I was also surprised to get a phone call from a company that comes from time to time to make sure our lawns are aerated, weeds killed & fed. Apparently they are due today. They were in Lancaster yesterday where it was snowing heavily. They hoped here, by the sea, where we rarely have snow, all would be clear & they could come yesterday. I assured them they would be wasting their time as we were white too. The lawns at that time was fast disappearing under the falling snow. I’ll be surprised if they come today. I’m sure they will be here as soon as they can & the weather is better so they can see the green of the lawns once more.

So much for spring being on its way!