Wednesday 6 January 2010

Blizzards!

Last night it snowed solidly from the start of my last post and throughout the night. At 9.30pm we got a call from our brother in law asking if we could put him up for the night, of course we told him yes and he brought with him tales of woe. Hundreds of cars blocked the motorways, with people just leaving their vehicles on the hard shoulder and walking to the nearest exits. Blizzards and snow drifts brought traffic to a standstill, leaving so many cars unable to move. A nearby supermarket stayed open as a drop in center and this morning we heard stories of people being taken in by kindly souls, but many more spent a very cold night in their cars.

This was the hill out of our village to the West,


and to the east. Cars left all over the road made a slippery hill harder to negotiate, even with 4wd!


This is the hill down from our lane, with happy children compacting the surface to an ice rink consistency.


Up the lane towards our field is the little church, pretty as a chocolate box on any day, but today, so gorgeous it almost hurt to look at it!


The magical tunnel of trees in the lane heading towards the field.


The trees were so heavy with snow and then just around the corner, outside our field


one of our trees was down and across the road.



It was almost enjoyable working together in the snow to remove the obstruction from the lane. Although, I did have to stop to take some photos of our progress!


Merlin really appreciated his bucketful of warm mash and apples.



Horses nearby were having quite a yar around, and Merlin was very watchful. Our field is about 3miles away from the house, so getting there was quite stressful and wading through the drifts was pretty tiring.


After a slightly nervous drive home through falling temperatures, we settled down with a small whiskey and began to prepare dinner. That was when the power went out. Thankfully I keep a large supply of candles and matches and within 10 minutes cooking resumed. My kitchen looks soooo messy, but in the candlelight I could hardly see it, but the flash shows it up now!!!


We all sat together in the kitchen for a very jovial meal and afterwards the children played board games.


It's been a very tiring, but actually wonderful day. It was almost disappointing when the power came back on, but at least I can now have a hot bath and prepare for another adventure tomorrow.

A lot of people, however, aren't as well prepared as we are, and I'm wondering how long the goodwill will last when food supplies run low. I have one friend cut off, and in the middle of nowhere with only enough food to last a couple of days and our village shops were rapidly selling out of bread and milk as people panicked and bought anything they could grab. The veneer of civilisation is a thin one and actually more fragile than many of us realise. I hope the strength of it isn't tested any time soon!

5 comments:

Pat said...

I so appreciated your post because I had looked at the map and suspected you would be apart of this arctic blast. Your post was warm and friendly and I am so glad you are well. I'm sending warm hugs your way.
Pat

Morning's Minion said...

As I make my rounds of UK blogs I am astonished to realize that cold snowy winters are not the norm there [?] So many modern homes don't have a way to cook or keep warm when the power goes out--or a pantry or freezer well stocked with food.
Glad to read that your family and the horses are managing. It can be a novel adventure--for a while!

Nan and =^..^= said...

Oh, your photos of the blizzard are wonderful...you really captured the feeling of it and the excitement and beauty! (My husband had mentioned to me last week that he read that England is having the worst winter in 100 years.) Am glad you were so well prepared! Stay warm and safe!

Bovey Belle said...

Glad you are coping my dear. G was chatting to your P on line, so I knew how bad it was! You had more snow, and more quickly than us, that's for sure. Had to laugh at Merlin rolling with his nose in his food tub - that's just what Itsy used to do/still does too!

Tammie Lee said...

your winter is looking a lot like our winter. snow is just now starting to fall. Time to go out and get some firewood. be well!