Sunday, 24th January

[Sybille Weber]

Oh dear, the white stuff is back. It has been snowing since the afternoon, and the forecast is for snow all night and temperatures below freezing point for tonight and the following days. So it looks as if the snow is going to stay yet again. Not nice prospects for tomorrow's journey to work, but then it is only January, and it is really just the normal kind of weather for this time of the year - unless you live in Cornwall, of course - or in Australia!

[jane jackson]

Oh dear Sybille, hope your journey to work isn't too bad with the snow. Hopefully we've seen the last of the Cornish snow here for this winter ~ fingers crossed. It's been a lovely sunny day again here but now it's raining although still +5c outside so quite warm. Sounds as though it may get colder by the end of the week.

[gloria townsin]

Sorry to hear your weather is going to be a bit on the white side.......maybe it won't last as long this time, you can only recenly have got rid of the Chrismas/New Year lot. As you say it is still only January and there is a way to go yet Winter-wise. Drive safely.

[Kath Mulligan]

Having watched the Countryfile forecast here last night I did wonder how you were faring, Sybille, when I saw the extensive area of cold blue colours stretching across most of mainland Europe. It could well be making its way across to us too by the end of this week so I shall be doing any driving that needs to be done this week just in case my car disappears under a white blanket again! Hope your drive to work isn't too difficult and that this cold snap doesn't last anywhere near as long as the last one. February is often the coldest month of the winter up here, so have a horrible feeling that we are not out of the woods yet.

Kath

[adesmith]

They mentioned the 's' word on Radio Wales for the end of the week but I am hoping that it will just be sleet or rain for us. It has gone cold again. Hope that it doesnt last too long for you Sybille. The trouble is that as you said it is only January!

[Sybille Weber]

We had several inches of snow and did actually have a bit of chaos on the roads yesterday, but as I only work part-time I can usually avoid the rush-hour, so we were ok.
Today, Tuesday, has been a beautiful day - blue skies and lots of sunshine, but even so the temperature did not climb above -6 during the day.
-20 degrees forecast for tonight and a further 5-10 inches of snow for tomorrow, also strong winds to come, and then particularly heavy snowfall on the weekend. Doesn't sound too nice. But then, the weathermen have repeatedly been wrong. Will have to wait and see.

[jane jackson]

It's interesting that the weathermen in Germany get the forecasts wrong as ours do too! -20 degrees does sound a trifle chilly Sybille and -6 during the day, well we're not used to that even though we moan about our weather over here. Let's hope the snow and strong winds are not as bad as forecast.

[gloria townsin]

It's turned very cold here today........seemed colder than when we had snow this afternoon. Brrr....

[Kath Mulligan]

It's damp and raw-feeling here today with a cold wind, but I think (or hope!) I have found the way to ward off any further snowfalls. I bought a large bag of rock salt from our local garden centre yesterday so I am hoping that is my insurance policy that it won't be needed! You know how it is .... if you go out armed with mac and brolly, the sun shines, whereas go out in a light jacket and the heavens are sure to open ...... well I am working on the same principle with the rock salt.

Sybille, your weather sounds absolutely atrocious again, so much snow and such Arctic temperatures. Hope it soon turns milder again, and on a selfish note, that it doesn't decide to move westwards across the UK too, although there is that threat that it may happen early next week. Good to know your weathermen are just as capable as ours of getting it completely wrong! Good old capricious Mother Nature loves to keep us all guessing!

Kath

[jane jackson]

Another frost overnight with the temperature going down to minus 3.5c although that's nothing compared to Sybille's cold conditions. Now the sun is shining but expect it will be chilly outside if yesterday is anything to go by. I'm going to visit Linda's friend Nancy in St Just for a donkey fix this morning so the sunshine is great as the last time I went it was pouring with rain.

[jane jackson]

Forgot to say ~ hope the rock salt works Kath!

[gloria townsin]

Hope you found the donks well Jane.....wrap up warm is all I can say to everyone suffering the cold weather. Kath if your 'insurance' works there could be a run on bags of rock salt for home use!!

[Kath Mulligan]

Hope you found the donks well Jane.....wrap up warm is all I can say to everyone suffering the cold weather. Kath if your 'insurance' works there could be a run on bags of rock salt for home use!!

If it works, Gloria, I shall be rapidly investing in some shares in a rock salt mine!!!

[Sybille Weber]

Sybille, your weather sounds absolutely atrocious again, so much snow and such Arctic temperatures. Hope it soon turns milder again, and on a selfish note, that it doesn't decide to move westwards across the UK too, although there is that threat that it may happen early next week. Good to know your weathermen are just as capable as ours of getting it completely wrong! Good old capricious Mother Nature loves to keep us all guessing! Kath

IF our weathermen are right this time, we'll get strong south westerly winds this afternoon, later westerly to north westerly winds, so the front is not likely to move in your direction. - Fingers crossed.

[jane jackson]

Drove over to St Just in glorious sunshine so the scenery looked wonderful but it clouded over later but at least stayed dry. I had a lovely time grooming Missy the donkey who is 27 and the mother of Sammy whom Nancy groomed. They're really lovely donkeys, very quiet and friendly and looked very happy and healthy munching their feed and then their hay + some carrots. They're a credit to Nancy. We then went into St Just and enjoyed some toasted cheese and onion sandwiches and coffee ~ a very good time was had by all.

[adesmith]

Fingers crossed for you Sybille! Seems like you have had quite enough snow now!

That sounds like a nice trip out Jane. When we were out a few weeks ago we saw an advert for a young donkey at a farm gate. It actually said Jack donkey for sale and we talked about what a good name for a donkey until I remembered that all male donkeys are jacks, which I think I read in the Chronicles. Anyway we had a discussion about whether we should stop and buy him. Rupert was quite keen until I explained that we didnt have a spare car seat to drive him home. We also discussed (tongue in cheek) whether he would mind living on the patio and whether the shed was long enough for him to lie down! But I did have a rather fun picture in my mind of me coming home to take the donkey for a walk down to the river and back! Unfortunately I dont think keeping a donkey is for us :(

[Janet Swan]

One donkey is not enough - I believe they need to be in pairs to be happy! Just a hypothetical comment!

Janet

[Kath Mulligan]

Fingers crossed for you Sybille! Seems like you have had quite enough snow now!

Rupert was quite keen until I explained that we didnt have a spare car seat to drive him home. We also discussed (tongue in cheek) whether he would mind living on the patio and whether the shed was long enough for him to lie down! But I did have a rather fun picture in my mind of me coming home to take the donkey for a walk down to the river and back! Unfortunately I dont think keeping a donkey is for us :(

Good job Rupert is not yet old enough to be reading the Chronicles or else he would have been pointing out to you that not having a spare car seat didn't stop Derek and Jeannie from bringing a pregnant Penny back from the pub in the back of their LandRover.

Kath

[adesmith]

I had forgotten about that Kath! Still I think even Derek and Jeannie would have struggled with a Corsa!!! I hope that Rupert does like the Chronicles when he grows up. I have a friend at school who read them when she was younger and read them when she stayed at her Grans in Cornwall.

That definitely settles it then Janet. We havent got room for two donkeys on our small patio so we will have to stick with out cat and goldfish until one day we move to the country ...

[gloria townsin]

Kath beat me to the Land Rover scenario......you might remember there was a donkey foal advertised for weeks in the local Mullion newspaper, then later still another one a bit older......so I could have had the pigeon pair Janet. It's true they are herd animals and Derek worried a lot when Fred was left alone after Penny died, then again for Merlin when Fred died. But oh the temptation..........Still look longingly at the field behind Bryher.....I only need the smallest whisper and I'll be there buying it.

Jane what a fabulous day out.......

[Kath Mulligan]

I had forgotten about that Kath! Still I think even Derek and Jeannie would have struggled with a Corsa!!!

OK I'll let you off, a Corsa would definitely have posed a bit of a challenge!!

Kath

[Brenda]

Dang, the end of the lovely two-week mild spell! :cray:
This morning, the temperature is -27 degrees C, and there's a windchill of -34C. There's ice on the inside of our double-glazed windows!! No matter, I'm starting another editing job today and will be at the computer most of the day. Sunshine all day and the warm glow of successful marmalade making yesterday - life's good.

[Kath Mulligan]

Good grief, Brenda, now that IS cold!!! There's a bitingly cold wind here today too, albeit it lovely and sunny, but our temperature is hovering around zero which would seem positively balmy to you!

Glad the marmalade was a success, hope the editing job goes just as well.

Kath

[jane jackson]

Heavens Brenda we don't know we're born over here! Bryan panics at -4c he's thinking of our plants of course. I used to get ice on the inside of our bedroom windows in Hertfordshire before we had double glazing but ice on the inside of double glazing.............................wow!

You sound very happy though so enjoy your warm glow.

[adesmith]

Goodness me! At least you dont have to go anywhere Brenda. I am planning on making some marmalade this weekend but I use the cheats ready prepared oranges in a tin but in my defence it is still better than the stuff that you buy in jars! Keep warm!

[gloria townsin]

I've got frostbite reading your post Brenda. A nice warm slice of toast and your marmalade might warm me up a treat though!!

[Sybille Weber]

Oh dear, that is cold, Brenda, although with -20 on Wednesday night we were not far from that either. Next day temperatures went up to as much as +4 though, so the snow of the previous day was gradually thawing. Light frost again during the night though, so roads were covered by pure ice and frozen snow in the morning. Then thawing again during Friday plus heavy snowfall at +2. So there was a lot of slush around, and you really had to wear rubber boots outside. Light frost and heavy snowfall last night, so this morning we woke up to another few inches of snow which, at 0 degr. seems to be at the verge of melting. Beautiful sunshine and blue skies earlier today, too. So this was lovely to look at. Not quite like the forecast though that had forecast more heavy snowfall for today plus temperatures down to between -5 and -9. But then, what can you expect if even within one newspaper the forecast differs. (The brief one on the front page was a lot different from the detailed one at the back of the paper.)

[Brenda]

Last night was frigid! Thank goodness for central heating and the woodstove and quilts and fleece PJs and a large warm cat that likes to cuddle up close! I woke up at 5 am (seems to be a regular thing for me these days) and, knowing that sleep was gone for good, I got up and opened the curtains so that I could enjoy the brilliant moonlight. Back under the warm blankies again, I noticed a very bright star above the trees across the road. But, star it was not I realized, as it was moving quite quickly towards the southwest. That's the second time I've seen the international space station zooming across the sky. Today started out at about -28C or so but warmed up to a balmy -20ish by midday. I don't know how our little birdies survive in this, but somehow they do. And the garden plants! Isn't it amazing that someone has bred an azalea that is suited to this northern climate? I've got one that has been through eight winters now. Incredible!

[jane jackson]

What about your humming birds Brenda? Do they go away for the winter? Will you have them in the area you're moving to?

It's glorious sunshine in Penzance this morning and -1.7c at 9.15am - went down to -3c overnight. I can't even imagine -28c. We have a nice warm cat on our bed at night too, only the one as t'other prefers the beanbag in the lounge ~ she snuggles right into it and looks so sweet.

One of our Camellias is covered in buds which are showing dark pink and just longing to burst but I hope they wait until all the frost has gone or they'll all go brown and soggy. We moved 3 small Camellias when we came here and they are just now coming back into their own so I really do want to appreciate the blooms.

[Brenda]

Our hummingbirds, having none of the financial considerations that we do, nor a cat to impede their journey, head to Central America for the winter, Jane. They leave our area sometime in late August and don't show their faces again until early May.

We're getting a bit of a break this morning, as the thermometer outside my dining room window shows a mere -10C. A very grey day coming up, I think, and there's more of the white stuff in the forecast.

You mentioned the buds on your plants, and it reminded me of some interesting contrasts between our situation and that of my sister-in-law in east Devon. When we talk on (any) New Year's Day, she's often just come in from 'doing a lot of digging and shovelling' [in her garden], while Peter has often just come in from doing a lot of digging and shovelling [of snow, in our driveway, on our walks and around the woodpile]. She worries every year that her flowering plants, which are frequently still blooming in January, will not have enough time to rest before their next period of spring growth begins. We wonder every year how many plants we will lose to deep frost. She moans a bit when they're still having to cut the grass in November. We moan when the snow in November is already so deep that we're sick of moving it, and still face another four months of the same. My brother-in-law always says, 'I don't know how you can live there, girl.'

[Kath Mulligan]

Just goes to show we're never satisfied with our own lot in life, doesn't it?! Must say though, I'd rather have your sister-in-law's problems than yours, Brenda! I was having a wander around my little domain this morning and noticed that my daffodil bulbs are coming on in leaps and bounds while the crocuses are being a bit reluctant to stir themselves - strange since they are supposed to flower in February/early March but they are only just poking their heads above the soil in my windowboxes and tubs. I had planned to uncover part of my garden from its black polythene blanket today and plant the new variegated holly bush and floribunda rose that I bought this last week, but we had another very keen frost again last night, so have decided against it, since it would mean tramping about on my new lawn, and I'd rather not risk doing any damage to that while it is so frosty. The shrubs are in sizeable pots in a sheltered position under the kitchen window so they won't take any harm there for a while longer.

I think Spring will be quite late up here this year after such a cold hard winter. No sign of life yet on my forsythia which is usually budding by now.

Kath

[Barbara]

Oh Brenda, I can't get my head around those temperatures! I'm afraid if I was a hummingbird, I'd head straight for Honduras as well - clever little things, aren't they.
I must say though, that I've always considered that Spring must be amazing in the northern hemisphere - everything beautiful emerging after the snow and grey. Spring here is lovely too, but there is not the contrast that all of you experience. There's always an upside to everything - don't you think?
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