A Taste of Winter

Winter is coming

When we think of winter here in Great Western Land, we think of wind, hail, snow and ice, of cold days and colder nights, blazing fires and stew.

Today the wind has moved round to the North and is i bringing a bit of the arctic with it which has broken the unseasonably warm November we have had so far.

The winds of a few days ago ripped many leaves off the trees, that lovely bank of green at the end of my garden is now nothing but twigs and branches. The cold temperatures overnight will cause the remaining leaves to drop I suspect.

I was going to make wine from the grapes on the vine but the birds and weather have got to them first, they are useless but will stay there as an over winter food source and indeed the source of purple pooh that inevitably follows. The birds also have new seed and fat balls in their dispensers, that should keep them happy.

It is of course at this time of year when the winter winds pick up and our atlantic depressions fly over us bringing all sorts of weather. For the garden this is a test of wooden fencing and although some of the fencing here is relatively new, less than 5 years old, I am going to start a sweepstake on when one section of it collapses. Winner gets a hammer and bucket of nails etc.

Out with the old, in with the older

Those old reliable winter things have started to reappear. The comfy thick and warm coat, the hats, scarf and gloves and the boots. Away with T-shirts and shorts this is no weather for bare skin (more like bear skin!).

Winter can be fun

There are a great many who complain about our weather, it’s too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, too windy, too close. This is because as an island nation next to 3,000 miles of open sea we don’t have stable weather conditions and it’s why there is a preoccupation with it here in Great Western Land.

Unlike places this far away from the equator that don’t benefit from the Gulf Stream our winters are not so deep and so long so we can have a week or two of snow and ice followed by a period of rain. This intensifies the snow bound activities involving many snow balls, snow men and slides. All great fun thanks to the wet nature of Great Western Land snow.

Winter is here

So bring it on, let’s have a cold snap to kill off all the nasty bugs, let’s have some fog, snow and ice to test our driving skills and let’s have a bit of wind but not so much that my fence falls down.

We’re ready!