A Week-Long Wintry Spell
Until two days ago, my surroundings were white, everything covered in snow and frost. Temperatures were below zero, between -6° to -15° C (between 35 and 5 Fahrenheit). Cat’s bowl of water on the terrace was an ice block, much to her irritation following the initial inspection and scratching, and everyone had to watch their step with ice just under any new cover of snow.
But it was beautiful, and just as the blanket of snow dampens any sound and noise, it also seemed to dampen activity levels — people slowed down, something almost unheard of two weeks before Christmas, in many cases to enjoy the spectacle. And the sunsets were magnificent, at least on days when there were no snowstorms.
The walk to the lake was through a winter wonder land, well wrapped in warm clothes and not forgetting the gloves, although they make it awkward when taking pictures. With sub-zero temperatures, a warm shawl and woolen gloves are indispensable.
We have been to the garden once or twice a week, mainly to fill the bird feeders and make certain that both the greenhouse and the house had not suffered from the cold. All the watering bowls for the birds have frozen over, of course, but there is enough snow, more than enough, to keep the birds of all sizes well watered. We have had some problems with some of the bird feeders as the big birds, rooks and crows, mainly, have been too eager and, thus, have torn some down — the alternative has been to place some of the food on the ground.
I have been out with grease bands for all the fruit trees to make certain that various critters do not attack our apples, plumbs and pears — Thank you to Ivy Shepherd for the advice. I have also placed a number of small apples, my favourite Pigeon apples, on red strings on the larch outside the house. To me, it is the Christmas apple, small, firm, sweet-sour, and with a wonderful red colouring. The ’Pigeon’ apple is originally from France and came to Denmark in 1795; they have been widely cultivated since the 1870s, especially on the island of Fyn (Funen), the ‘garden of Denmark’, where I am from originally.
When we were at the garden a couple of days ago, we decided to follow the stream that runs through the western side of the town, also to enjoy the sunset over the wetlands at the end of the stream. We met a couple of ducks out for a walk on the thin ice, probably awaiting feeding time at the farm nearby.
Walking along the stream towards the wetlands we were treated to a beautiful sunset before heading home to a well-earned cup of tea.
The cloud cover was a messenger of a change in the weather, and the day after there was some light drizzle, which then turned into rain proper as of yesterday and washed the snow away. This also meant that the sky was constantly overcast, with no stars showing up at night, even Jupiter could not penetrate the cloud cover. Now, however, the cold is back with a clear night sky, a bright Jupiter towards the west and an almost equally bright Aldebaran to the south, just above the majestic Orion. However cold it may well be, it is good to see the stars again.
We may well have had Christmas snow ahead of schedule, but I can still wish all of you a Merry Christmas.
