Sunday, December 10, 2017

Snow Days

Days at home due to the snow concentrate the mind into doing the festive 'need to do' jobs you've been putting off, like writing Christmas Cards.

We now have a pile of them to post and hopefully tomorrow we can don our hats, warm coats and wellies and walk down to the post office to send them on their way.

 Whilst I was sitting at the kitchen table writing the last few cards, held back to put letters or notes inside, Paul made Welsh Cakes and they were delicious with afternoon tea whilst watching a silly but entertaining Christmas film.

 This morning we woke to another fall of snow.   Paths were cleared to the bird feeders which needed topping up ready for the cold weather ahead.

 The garden looks wonderful in the snow and it's so quiet and peaceful too under its fluffy white blanket.

No animal or human footprints as yet.

First bird at the ground feeder is old Mr Blackbird with his white feathery neck markings, he's been in and around our garden for a few years now and entertains us with his melodies in Spring.  I hope he makes it into next year.

Next to the feeder is the fearless one legged Robin.  He or she does have a second leg which hangs loosely under their body.  It often comes close to the kitchen window and stares in as if to say 'come on! you are late with those breakfast buggy nibbles this morning.'   Perhaps he/she would like a side order of meal worms too.

When the Goldfiches come in every perch on the feeders is taken and the one in the middle starts to form an orderly queue for a perch to get at the sunflower hearts which the finches around here seem to prefer to niger seed.

The next visitors were a pair of Greenfinches.


and a Chaffinch, it's definitely a Finch day today.

 Of course there are also Starlings. 

Who fight to get to the window feeder

 Another Robin peering to see what is left after the Starlings have visited.  Most of these photos were taken through the conservatory windows which had steamed up slightly due to me ironing......

..........and Paul making cheese scones for lunch.  We've had homemade soup for lunch for the last couple of days carrot yesterday and celery on Friday and I've really enjoyed those and cooking and baking certainly keeps the kitchen warm.

Later this afternoon I'll sit with a good festive book, I can't say what it is as I've bought a copy (mine is from the library) as a present and I know the person who is to receive it reads this blog.  In complete contrast I also have a book on my Kindle called 'One Summer in Tuscany' by Domenica De Rosa who as Elly Griffiths writes the wonderful murder mysteries set in Norfolk featuring forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway and the equally entertaining Stephens and Mephisto novels set in 1950s Brighton. 


This novel is a departure from those mentioned above and is more romance/humour in the vein of Judy Astley and Trisha Ashley but it is an escape to sunnier climes which compensates for the snow outside and it is about a creative writing course held in a castle near Sienna. 

Staying in on snow days isn't so bad but I will be glad if we can get out and about again tomorrow.

28 comments:

  1. The snow arrived here this morning, yesterday was fine and sunny. I wrote my cards in plenty of time this year - then had to save up to buy the stamps! :)

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    1. Stamps are so expensive now, aren't they? Managed to get ours posted yesterday thank goodness. Enjoy the snow:)

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  2. We're lucky that we have a large mailbox and all my cards went in there for the mailman to pickup, no 10 mile trip into town. The, they look like pancakes, Welsh Cakes look so good. We've had homemade chili this week, so warming.

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    1. How wonderful to have mail picked up as well as delivered, Just a short walk to our post office well about a couple of miles I was glad to get out for the exercise. Chili sounds wonderful:)

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  3. I’m very envious of your lovely snow. The perfect excuse to sit and enjoy homebaking. Just gales down in this corner of the world. B x

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    1. We are at the tail end of the Cheshire Gap so get all the weather coming from the North East and North Wales, relatives just the other side of the Peak District have different weather patterns to us. It's fascinating isn't it? Hope your gales blow away soon:)

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  4. WE have loads of snow.We should have gone off to the Lakes for a couple of nights going this morning but have decided to delay until tomorrow.It has snowed all day and is expected to go down to - 7 tonight.

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    1. Hope you managed to get to The Lakes, Barbara, I bet it's cold up there. Minus 8 here but just over the border in Shropshire minus 13. Brr:)

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  5. Great snowy pictures, Welsh cakes and cheese scones! Old Mr blackbird looks rather portly and I too hope he makes it to see another spring. We had lots of snow today which is unusual for London! I love it as long as everyone keeps safe. x

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    1. I know! Double treat but I needed to walk them off yesterday. I smile everytime I see Mr Blackbird, he was waiting for the feeders to be topped up this morning. Stay safe and warm:)

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  6. Did someone say cheese scones . . .?! We've even got some snow down here, only a tiddly bit. I think you've had quite a nice time without going out. 😊

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    1. I know that like me you enjoy a cheese scone, especially when out and about on an adventure. It was okay staying in over the weekend but I was glad to get out for a walk on Monday:)

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  7. Your snowy photos are great & especially to see it as we are heating up again after a few cooler days, but then it is summer here now. Being a lover of birds, I appreciate your posts about them. We've a few blackbirds that come too & one in particular quite often appears when I'm gardening, singing, hopping around & throwing mulch everywhere. When picking the blueberries a few days ago, he must have snuck under the netting & when I closed it up, he went crazy, so I opened it up once more, he flew out & sat on the fence above my head chirping away merrily again. A hubby who cooks? Wow! Have a lovely week & take care.

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    1. How lovely to have such a bright and friendly blackbird visit your garden, he certainly alerted you to the fact he was trapped inside the netting and appreciated being let out. How wonderful to ahve blue berries growing in your garden, I have one little plant which produces a few berries each year but I've never tasted one as the squirrels get them before I do:)

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  8. Lovely to see your garden looking so magical in the snow - we had loads yesterday too!! Cold weather certainly brings birds flocking to gardens - Goldfinches here prefer Sunflower Hearts to Niger Seeds too although have to say that worryingly they have disappeared over the last few weeks :( Have just had a flock of Redwings in the garden though and have gone out to put more apples on the lawn!

    The Victorian Fayre we were going to at Stratford yesterday was cancelled so i spent time catching up on Christmas jobs such as writing our cards and making Cauliflower Soup for tea :) Lovely to see what you are reading - as you know the books you read are a constant source of inspiration for me :)

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    1. I wonder where your goldfinches have moved to? We usually see them most of the year except Summer, they are always around in this type of weather, we had about nine of them the other day. Great to have redwings in your garden, we've never had those here although have seen them around the town in the trees outside the library. We have gained a new visitor in a grey wagtail, we've seen it on and off for the last couple of weeks and it doesn't visit every day, at least we don't spot it every day but it seems unusual for it to visit, it also seems to like the pond. Shame the Vicorian Fayre was cancelled that sounds as if it would have been lovely. Cauliflower soups sounds lovely too:)

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  9. Staying indoors because of the weather has benefits such as writing out mail for posting later and doing some reading, cooking etc. You have a lovely variety of birds in your garden to watch. The berries on the bushes in our garden are fewer now as the birds have been enjoying a daily feast. I enjoy Elly Griffiths' novels. She's a versatile writer. I haven't read One Summer in Tuscany. It sounds like a good choice to read on a Winter's day.

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    1. I did enjoy staying at home and getting things done but now I have less time to get out and about looking for presents and etc. I'm not going to panic yet though:) The book was charming and quite funny and was blessed with a lovely happy ending. Light reading and very different to the books she writes as Elly Griffiths:)

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  10. I'm so impressed that your lovely husband makes Welsh cakes and Scones! Jx

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  11. Sounds like a lovely and productive day indoors!

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    1. Thanks, Louise, it was good to be indoors:)

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  12. Your garden looks beautiful with its blanket of snow and your feeders are extremely busy! Homemade soup and scones are perfect comfort food for snow days. Keep warm. Marie x

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    1. Thank you Marie, we do have a lot of birds visit the garden as we feed them all year. I love soup especially at this time of year:)

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  13. Lovely feathered friends, Rosie. All those goldfinches! We had a redwing in the holly bush outside the window the other day, it was very exciting because I've never seen one in the garden before, and a noisy little family of long-tailed tits visit around ten o'clock every morning at the moment. I swear they can tell the time! Could you send Paul over this way to bake for me?! x

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    1. How wonderful to have a redwing visit your garden. Long tailed tits are one of my favourite birds, we get them in the garden occasionally and it is such a treat when they all land on the fat balls. Paul loves cooking meals and making bread, biscuits etc. I'm the cake and pudding maker although I don't do that so often now as we have cut down on those lately:)

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  14. 99p bought me 'Summer in Tuscany' which I read over the Christmas Eve weekend. An enjoyable piece of escapism. The 'mosquitos' mentioned on every other page (or so it seemed) will ensure I stay covered up if I ever go to Tuscany. Like Aldo I fell in love with Mary (also her fictional policeman who has conversations with pigeons), and should I ever meet Anna I will ask her why 'writing about growing up in Wembley... should bore (her writing companions) into good behaviour'. I grew up in Wembley after The War. Even then it was full of people from every continent and, of course, the world came to Wembley for the football (soccer to your American followers) plus the Olympics in 1948. Wembly boring? Never! See what a book about summer in Tuscany can do to one 73 year old fart - what will it do to othets who dare read it?

    I am now reading another book thanks to you Rosie, a collection of short stories by Tom Hanks, 'Uncommon Type'. Early days yet, but I like the way he meanders over the page.



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    1. Oh, Robert I've just found your comment in spam I don't know why that happened. I thought if you read Summer in Tuscany you would like the story of Mary and Aldo. I'm sure Wembley wasn't in the least boring - all those wonderful things you reember hapening there! I suppose people think that writing about thearea they grew up in or know very well wouldn't interest others? I have been to Tuscany in late summer and don't remember any mosquitos, just the intense, dreamy heat. I did get bitten on the ankle in Paris is September though I noticed it somewhere near the Eifel Tower and by the time I got home my foot was so swollen I had to go out and by large mule type sandals to put on my feet:)

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