Today I need to apologise to the whole country, yesterday (by the time I post this) we had the first substantial snow this winter. The reason I need to apologise is when talking to a friend over in Maine who had just had a foot of snow, I told her to send some over here. Well it looks as though she did just that.
It was a strange coincidence but last night after getting the woman I spoke of yesterday to read and approve the posting; I went to the Pub for a couple of pints of Irish. As I was walking to the pub it started snowing a bit, but it was more like hailstones. Anyway as one has to, I stepped outside to act as a leper, and while I puffed away, I was told that, with authority, it was to cold for snow. Well the white stuff must be dandruff, memo to self, must get some shampoo! I didn’t want to get into an argument over the point, but I think that when everyone is saying its going to snow, then snow it will.
I did want to get out and take some pictures, but I had a meeting in the morning and I had to do some food shopping in the afternoon, maybe tomorrow.
While it does look picturesque, it does have an impact upon the wildlife. Some will suffer like the robins I reported on recently. And the snow cover will make it more difficult for birds to find food, that’s why I have been feeding the birds since I moved in here. But the snow can also help; small mammals like voles and mice can become insulated from the cold by a blanket of snow. Additionally many tree and shrub seeds need a period of cold the trigger germination in the spring.
Lastly, a reasonable period of cold will help kill off the insects like midges that have brought diseases like Blue Tongue to the UK this year.
One of the difficulties with snow is the way that people drive. I realise that most people don’t experience snow that frequently, that fact should make people more cautious, but they seem to drive with wild abandon. While on the bus I saw several drivers who were on the verge of loosing control of their vehicles. Even as the bus travelled up the hills to Consett, I saw more than ten incidents were a car was driving to fast for the conditions and where the car lost traction and was sliding. Later when I went to the greengrocer in the village, I heard that effectively the village was blocked by accidents at both ends of the village. The main road through the village was just a sheet of ice, yet people were determined to drive on it and were slipping and sliding all over the place. As I walked back home, I advised the driver of each vehicle of the problems and most realised that it was wiser to safely park up and walk rather than trying to slide up the hill home.
I realise that most people need (or think they need) their cars for work. But today the common sense thing to have done was use public transport, but in my experience sense is not common.
It was a strange coincidence but last night after getting the woman I spoke of yesterday to read and approve the posting; I went to the Pub for a couple of pints of Irish. As I was walking to the pub it started snowing a bit, but it was more like hailstones. Anyway as one has to, I stepped outside to act as a leper, and while I puffed away, I was told that, with authority, it was to cold for snow. Well the white stuff must be dandruff, memo to self, must get some shampoo! I didn’t want to get into an argument over the point, but I think that when everyone is saying its going to snow, then snow it will.
I did want to get out and take some pictures, but I had a meeting in the morning and I had to do some food shopping in the afternoon, maybe tomorrow.
While it does look picturesque, it does have an impact upon the wildlife. Some will suffer like the robins I reported on recently. And the snow cover will make it more difficult for birds to find food, that’s why I have been feeding the birds since I moved in here. But the snow can also help; small mammals like voles and mice can become insulated from the cold by a blanket of snow. Additionally many tree and shrub seeds need a period of cold the trigger germination in the spring.
Lastly, a reasonable period of cold will help kill off the insects like midges that have brought diseases like Blue Tongue to the UK this year.
One of the difficulties with snow is the way that people drive. I realise that most people don’t experience snow that frequently, that fact should make people more cautious, but they seem to drive with wild abandon. While on the bus I saw several drivers who were on the verge of loosing control of their vehicles. Even as the bus travelled up the hills to Consett, I saw more than ten incidents were a car was driving to fast for the conditions and where the car lost traction and was sliding. Later when I went to the greengrocer in the village, I heard that effectively the village was blocked by accidents at both ends of the village. The main road through the village was just a sheet of ice, yet people were determined to drive on it and were slipping and sliding all over the place. As I walked back home, I advised the driver of each vehicle of the problems and most realised that it was wiser to safely park up and walk rather than trying to slide up the hill home.
I realise that most people need (or think they need) their cars for work. But today the common sense thing to have done was use public transport, but in my experience sense is not common.
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