Sunday Morning

Weather

The possibility of snow is being forecast. It seems that we're in the grip of a cold front, but that there's a rainy warm front coming in from the west which might turn into snow when it mixes with the cold front.

I guess this explains the belief that if the weather is very cold, it needs to warm up a little before it will snow?

I found this rather detailed but enlightening explanation online: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2051/does-it-ever-get-too-cold-to-snow

Contrasts

What a difference a couple of weeks have made to our surroundings here. The picture below was taken a week ago. Someone had given me some white tulips and I thought the contrast between the tulips inside and the snow still lying on the grass in the garden was quite interesting.

Then yesterday I took a walk in a nearby village and found a hedge of holly....

Above some clumps of snowdrops. The contrast here are the associations that I make with these two images. Holly makes me think of Winter, and snowdrops make me think of Spring.

Yet more snow....

Enough for my neighbours to build not just one....

.....but TWO snowmen!

The village looked lovely in its white coating. Cars were few and far between, and moving at a snail's pace.

School was closed, but look at what I spotted just inside the fence.

There's more snow being forecast. Hooray!

My Footprints ---------->

The Birds

Yesterday we had about two inches of snow fall by the end of the day. It snowed pretty well all day, and had also snowed the night before. Why the snow wasn't deeper is probably because the flakes were mostly small and powdery, although towards the end of the morning they did get bigger. I reckon it took all of the evening and night before for the first inch to fall, and the second inch fell during the afternoon.

These pictures were taken in the morning, before the first inch finished falling. That poor pigeon looked like a pom pom. I often wonder why their feet don't freeze.

And the little birds were all over the tree with the red berries. I called these pictures "The Ice Cream Bar" but I think "The Sorbet Bar" would have been more appropriate.

Today the sun is shining and some of the snow is melting, although my car and driveway still have at least an inch on them, so it should be fun driving, or should I say sliding out a bit later.

Checking to see if it was going to snow this afternoon, I found the MetCheck website which gives a two-hourly forecast. They have this handy code that you can put on your website to show the week's weather forecast in your area, so I've put it at the bottom of the page.

If you look at the forecast for here, we're expecting more snow on Thursday. Hooray!

It's snowing!

As you can see from the picture, it's snowing here. I woke up and got a lovely surprise when I pulled back the curtains. The world was covered in a bright white blanket of snow, and then it started to snow again, so I tried to be creative with my camera.

Of course, it's freezing outside, and just in time for this cold cold weather, a set of cable knit hat, gloves and scarf arrived from Donna of Made In Heaven . Thanks Donna, they're so soft and warm - just perfect for the chilly air outside.Yes, that's me taking my own picture in the mirror!

I hope 2009 is a wonderful year for everyone.

It snowed last night

.... and here's the proof. It isn't very much, but it's definitely snow. As you can see in the background the sun is shining and melting the snow wherever it touches, but my car is still in the shade, for now.

Despite the sunshine, it's still pretty cold outside.

Frost/Rain/Snow

This morning there was a touch of frost on everything. Not a thick coat, just a frosty sheen like you'd get on a beer glass that's been chilled in the freezer.

The weather forecast is for a very cold week, and today's forecast is for rain .... and possibly snow (!) in some areas including the Chilterns. That's where I am, right on the edge of the Chilterns - well pretty close anyway.

I'm watching the sky: the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the frost has melted. It looks like it's going to be a lovely day.

Snow Again, Thaw Again....

Snow Again....
Thaw again......

Drip, drip, drip.

That's the weather today, so far, and it's only noon here. The sun is out now. What else can nature chuck at us today, I wonder.

Happy Easter

No, that isn't dandruff that Hooli's sporting, it's snow!

This was the scene I woke up to this morning! Lovely. Half an hour after taking this picture it all melted, which is just as well, since I didn't want to be snowed in. My cousin and his wife were coming on one of the very few trains that was actually running from London. They arrived, we had a lovely day visiting at my mother's house. My brother came with his family, and we had our annual Easter Egg Fight (no we don't chuck raw eggs at each other, we try to smash each other's hard boiled eggs). Last year we won, this year, they did.

Today I realised that in all the years I've spent in England (off and on, a total of 19) I've woken up to find it snowed overnight on Christmas Day once, and on Easter Day twice. So at the moment, Easter is in the lead.

Snow at last!

I woke up this morning, rolled up the blind, and this is what I saw. Finally, some snow.



It didn't last though, and by 9.30 am it was all gone! But it was fun while it lasted.