There will be a thaw one day but I'm not betting on when. The golf clubs are getting dusty and my outdoor tennis is definitely on hold. My elder son, Simon, wife Mel, granddaughter Amelia and dogs Bailey and Okie have arrived for a weeks holiday. At least that means that I'll get some exercise. In a few minutes we are going to the fields with a sledge, it will be Amelias first taste of careering down snowy slopes. I can still remember the great times that we enjoyed on sledges when I was a boy and when my children were young. It seemed to snow every year then.
I've been refilling the bird feeders again and spreading a mix of Weetabix, Porridge Oats, raisins, bread and wild bird seed on the patio. It seems to be working wonders as we are seeing new and unusual visitors.
Redwings have taken up residence and a pair of Fieldfares joined them today. On Friday a Water Rail visited, the first one that I have seen in our garden. It would be disappointed as my small pond is as frozen as it's own pool must be. A Black Cap has just appeared and a pied wagtail, I'm enjoying this, and our blackbirds are establishing residents rights by trying to chase off all of the other patio visitors.
Mervyn L
