Settling in for the duration
Unfortunately the photos from this old post have been lost
We are getting used to this new way of living, going to town one day a week, working outside when the sun is shining then coming in to work on our computers and read beside the stove in the late afternoon.
Looking through the food stores to see what’s for dinner tonight and wondering how many more dinners the fresh vegetables will do.
Writing shopping lists that take the long view rather than the assumption that we will be in town again the day after tomorrow.
Putting on boots, a warm jacket and hat before going out the door, even for the quickest of tasks, has become the norm.
On Saturday we had fresh falls of snow and enjoyed a ramble around the forestry lanes and our land.
On Sunday we retraced our steps, we saw fox tracks and enjoyed watching where the tracks lead, where the fox followed in our footsteps and where he (or she, hard to tell from tracks) walked carefully in his own tracks.
He puts up quite a mileage each night, we can see fresh tracks each morning now that we are on the lookout for them. He criss crosses the fields quite methodically and often walks back in his own tracks.
It’s fun watching the trails left behind by him. We don’t keep poultry or fowl so we have no reason to dislike his visits. At one stage as we walked we were wondering what he finds to eat in this weather and then we spotted hare tracks. I am guessing that hare wants to avoid that fox at all costs!
We don’t know much about this business of tracking animals however we are having lots of fun. Usually we can’t see the animal tracks in the rainy weather 🙂
Yesterday, Sunday, we had lots of sunshine and the snow started to melt a little. It began to freeze quite seriously again in the afternoon which made for a beautiful effect, the snow chrystalised and flattened out into amazing spikes.
Last night we walked about with head torches and the snow sparkled like fairy lights, everywhere we looked, it was the most wonderful sight. On Saturday night as we walked to bed we saw four shooting stars in the night sky and last night the fields were filled with starlight.
Stay warm, stay safe and if you have elderly neighbours please chat with them and see if there is anything they need – or indeed anything they can help you with……
And at least you aren’t stranded away from home this year! Nice pictures.
Thanks Lynda, lovely to know that you are still dropping by 🙂 We are losing another neighbour this winter as you probably know, she will be missed too!
Hope you guys are doing well and enjoying the winter over there in Atlanta.
It’s freezing here but no snow! I miss Ireland, but not these past few weeks you’ve been in the deep freeze!
I think we will be over for a visit in late winter/early spring. Derek has some research to do over there. I’ll let you know when we’ll be in town!
Glad you’re enjoying the weather, I personally am going absolutely crazy with cabin fever here in West Wickla :-). You describe a lovely life and although there are times when it’s hard I’m sure, I always enjoy reading your posts and the wonderful imagery in them.
Thanks for your kind words Alan. I do understand the cabin fever, we were expecting to be feeling it, guess we are lucky this time around. We have also noticed some things that caused it in the past and are trying to avoid them.
As we do live in a very small space it’s nice to get some time apart each day and we are really trying to get outdoors as much as possible, we also have to make an extra effort to be tidy so that our living space is comfortable.
The photos are just beautiful. There is certainly an strong element of beauty and peace in the snow but such danger when it comes to people driving the metal weapons (cars!). Having said that I would take snow over just ice any day, at least you can see it and it is a constant reminder to be careful.
I was out the other day discreetly checking on older neighbours only to have the same older neighbours knocking on my door telling me not to being my young children out in the car etc and helping my husband dig out our driveway. I might (jokingly) tell them after to act old the next time! Jen
Thanks Jen, I agree with you about the snow, it’s safer and it’s also warmer! I love your tale about your neighbours helping you guys out.
It’s great how people help each other out so much in this weather. When I lived in a city the snowy weather was my favourite because it was the only time people really connected with other and I always found it strange how everyone went back to the normal isolation as soon as the thaw set in.
Well you have won the outdoorsy-part of my heart! Your photos are beautiful additions to your words!
I love the shots of the snow crystals… but I have to say that I’m glad I live in a place where I don’t have to deal with snow any more! It has been unseasonably cold in Florida the last week or so, but not cold enough to snow, thank goodness 🙂
Erin
@Barbara, – so glad you like my photos! Thanks for visiting and your kind words 🙂
@Erin – I hear you, I can understand if you’ve had years of snow to deal with that it is a relief to not have to deal with it. It’s a new seasonal twist for us here in Ireland, we had a big freeze last winter too and this weather is unusual for us so we don’t have the equipment or the training to deal with it.
A few inches of snow is enough to bring most of our cities to a halt so a foot of snow and we can’t move at all,