It's Cold Outside...

There was an earthquake in Cumbria last night.  I hope the Ancestors haven't taken offence because I didn't risk life and limb trying to visit them...

Today, the fog has cleared,  The temperature inside the porch has been oscillating between -5 and -8 over the last couple of days: I think I can safely assume that all the half-hardy annuals I'd carefully curated over the last month or so are now well and truly dead.  Next year we'll have to invest in a greenhouse heater...

Here are some pictures, taken just outside the house:-

 

And a view of some hoar frost on the Japanese maple:-

 

And yes, in case you're wondering, it feels just as cold as it looks!  We had eight blackbirds and two thrushes in the garden yesterday, the densest concentration of these birds I've ever seen, with lots of scuffles ensuing.  The fieldfare is, however, conspicuous by its absence...

Today I'll be decorating the tree, and I'm horse-riding at 2.30.  After that, I'll be declaring an official hibernation period until Christmas.  We have our usual rituals to observe: Nightmare Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, Christmas with the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series on Christmas Morning, plus an entire showing of the Lord of the Rings films over the holiday period.  We'll have to fit Wagner's Ring Cycle in amongst that lot, too - somehow...

I like holidays.  If only we could work 28 days a year and have holidays the rest of the time, for exactly the same wages...

 

It's Cold Outside...

There was an earthquake in Cumbria last night.  I hope the Ancestors haven't taken offence because I didn't risk life and limb trying to visit them...

Today, the fog has cleared,  The temperature inside the porch has been oscillating between -5 and -8 over the last couple of days: I think I can safely assume that all the half-hardy annuals I'd carefully curated over the last month or so are now well and truly dead.  Next year we'll have to invest in a greenhouse heater...

Here are some pictures, taken just outside the house:-

 

And a view of some hoar frost on the Japanese maple:-

 

And yes, in case you're wondering, it feels just as cold as it looks!  We had eight blackbirds and two thrushes in the garden yesterday, the densest concentration of these birds I've ever seen, with lots of scuffles ensuing.  The fieldfare is, however, conspicuous by its absence...

Today I'll be decorating the tree, and I'm horse-riding at 2.30.  After that, I'll be declaring an official hibernation period until Christmas.  We have our usual rituals to observe: Nightmare Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, Christmas with the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series on Christmas Morning, plus an entire showing of the Lord of the Rings films over the holiday period.  We'll have to fit Wagner's Ring Cycle in amongst that lot, too - somehow...

I like holidays.  If only we could work 28 days a year and have holidays the rest of the time, for exactly the same wages...