28th February 2018 The Beast from the East. Aka. Russian cold:

Wednesday 28th 15-21F, -9-6C, very windy but becoming clearer and brighter. Walked across the stubble fields to avoid the traffic. The snow is gently carved with micro-contours like a "busy" map. Countless small domes have formed where stalks have slowed the drifting snow until they were buried. The lane was softly packed but had obviously been scraped earlier by a snow plough. Drifts on the verge had been beautifully sculpted by the days of  winds.

Talking of which, I was easily able to lean on the wind while walking both ways. 30mph gusts at -10C is equivalent to a rather chilly -31C. Though it didn't feel that cold unless I removed my GG 'Nordic' gloves to take a photograph. The temperature has risen to 19F, -7C, after half an hour of snow clearing on the drive and garden paths.

I think I'll stay off the narrowed roads with my trike. The snow ploughing has left broad strips of no-man's-land along each side. Making it impossible for me to ride close to the verge. Or to pull off the road to let a bus or lorry pass. It is still blowing a gale this evening as the temperatures sink towards a forecast -8C. We had very little promised sunshine this afternoon and the roads were up to 4" deep with drifts blown off the fields.

More snow clearing to get the car out. Still trying to source winter fuel [compressed sawdust briquettes] but most of the regular places are still sold out. What a complete farce! If only the quality could be relied on one could buy a palette full but a lot of these blocks are absolute rubbish compared with the best. We wouldn't use them all [1 Ton or 1000kg] anyway but have no suitable indoor, heated storage to keep them perfectly dry from one year to the next.

It just goes to show how one simply cannot rely on vital products to remain available even in the 21st century. With the dire weather forecast [for Russian cold] I'm amazed "they" didn't strip the supermarkets bare! Like they did after the 1999 Great Storm. That was the time the water was off for days, as was the electricity, just after Christmas. Choose your [wooden] furniture carefully in case of emergency.

Your next tin of beans may be your last if the weather peels back the thin skin of modern, Western civilization! The supermarkets aren't into rationing and will cheerfully sell out to anyone with the cash when the electronic tills have gone down. And no, I'm not living in the Communist Soviet Block. It just feels like it sometimes.

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26th February 2018 Yet more of the same.

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Monday 26th 21F, -6C, cold, brightening and breezy again. May I have my AGW back, please?

An extra Norwegian jumper, with a high neck and frayed cuffs, solved yesterday's cold spots. I normally wear a high-necked fleece anorak under my nominally wind and waterproof jacket. This combination works well until it blows hard as well as being cold. Zips can easily be undone to quickly rid oneself of excess warmth. Open necks vent too much of it.

It was bright to start with but a grey lid soon covered the sky from the north east. A free gift from Russia by all accounts. The distant views were quickly misted over. Just as they were yesterday.  Snow began to fall across my back, but was short lived. We must have been on the leading edge of already depleted snow clouds.

Yet again I took to the lumpy, stubble fields to return home. Instead of by the circuitous, asphalted route with its sparse but indifferent traffic. I passed by dark and marshy copses. With shaded snow covering their usually murky and stagnant pools and motes.

There was hardly a bird to be seen this morning. A few melancholy gulls headed optimistically out over the white and patchy landscape.  Just as they have always done but in fewer numbers than now. Foolish blackbirds risked all, to dive low over the road to escape, or to chase off rivals. Their, and our, small world continues to turn. Always the promise of something, anything, better than it is, right now.

It had reached 28F, -2C, when I pedaled off into a 20-25mph cross-headwind. I was comfortable wearing two pairs of tights and a short cycling rain jacket over my best winter, windproof cycling jacket. I took off the rain jacket as soon as I arrived at the shops to avoid sweating.

Shopped and then returned heavily laden with a cross-tailwind cutting into my cheek. Every vehicle which passed was throwing up a huge cloud of salt from the dry roads.  Only 7 miles. Still no edible tomatoes anywhere! They are all pale orange and we prefer traditional red.

Tuesday 27th 19-23F, -7-5C, two more inches of overnight snow and still falling heavily and steadily. Windy and overcast. Gusting up to 30mph later! Ouch! I'm going for a walk. I may be some time. I did a large loop out over the fields gathering pictures from new viewpoints.

It was snowing heavily until I returned home. Probably amounting to 10cm, 4" by now. Drifting readily in the wind, I saw swirling clouds of the stuff rising off the fields over 50' high. Visibility was down to 50 yards on the roads at times. So I gave the traffic the freedom to proceed without my getting in the way. There was about an inch of hard pack on the roads making it easier to walk on virgin snow of the verge.  It continued snowing all day with enough wind to blow clouds of it around.

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19th February 2018: Misty vistas.

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Monday 19th 32F, 0C, misty but calm with half an inch of new, overnight snowfall. A longer walk in a loop past the marsh. I am very lucky to have such opportunities for different routes so close to home.I have to pay for it in using the roads to reach my exit points. Despite the frosty appearance I was quite comfortable trudging through the snow. 

A large flock of rosy chested birds were having a feeding frenzy on the marsh alders. Redpolls perhaps, numbering some 500 individuals at a guess, they were rather nondescript apart from their blushing pink breasts. With a smattering of Great tits amongst them they flew wildly between trees in a miniature air display more reminiscent of starlings. 

No ride today because I drove to collect some non-existent wood briquettes for the stove. No stock in three local outlets! What are we supposed to use instead? One supermarket was blaming bad weather in Sweden. Not sure how that works because their stock is always clearly labelled in Polish or some similar language. This has happened before and is damned poor management of a vital resource for those who use them. Buying "oven ready" split beech logs from the nearest timber yard is a damp farce. It is so wet it won't even burn! This has been going on for years and they are still getting away with it!


Tuesday 20th 32-35F, 0-2C, light breeze, cloud clearing to sunshine and a soggy thaw.  My walk provided the first Skylark song of the year. Then I collected some wood briquettes from another source to keep us going.

Wednesday 21st 32-38F, O-3C, light winds, brightening to misty sunshine. I hab a bad kowd. <sniff> No walk or ride today. <sniff>

Thursday 22nd 35F, 2C, very light winds with a heavy overcast.  Rumours of my demise due to a man cold may have been exaggerated. I may last another day but there is now a world shortage of tissues. Not well enough for a walk or a ride despite bright sunshine.

Friday 23rd 24-36F, -4+2C, calm and sunny. Still short of breath, coughing, stuffy nose and feeling tired and achy. I'll try a short walk today if only to get some fresh air. My walk started off my coughing but it eventually subsided. I used a signpost to steady my binoculars while I watched a dozen Redwings wander about in short dashes on a field. A rather large gull, which seemed to be supervising, shifted from one foot to another as it endlessly pondered its escape. It was still there and still looking uncomfortable as I lost sight of them all in the distance. No ride today but I'm definitely on the mend.

Saturday 24th 30-32F, -1-0C, slight breeze, cloud clearing to sunny periods. As the ground was hard frozen I followed the tractor tracks up to the woods and back another way. Saw a single deer. Which waited just long enough for me to retrieve and point my camera before bouncing off. I'm getting my wind back and my nose is no longer depleting, already diminishing, global, tissue paper stocks. I worked outdoors for my exercise today and now I'm completely knackered. I was stripped down to my fleece jacket while working for hours outdoors.

Sunday 25th 25F, -4C, breezy and brightening. The Winter Olympics is over. I lost interest right at the start. When it was announced that there was to be tiddlywinks on ice, but no hill climb tricycling, in deep snow, by professional drug addicts.

My walk was brief and 'orribly cold. Only a couple of degrees lower than yesterday but the stronger wind made all the difference. The forest quickly disappeared behind a white fog. Which soon proved to be dense snowfall coming our way. So much for the 'dry' forecast. It was so cold that no flake of snow could melt and when cars passed, clouds of dry white dust were raised and chased after the retreating vehicle. My eyes were watering copiously inside my wrap around, protective glasses and the wind was finding all the weaknesses in my clothing. Usually, I am slightly too warm and walk with my jacket open, but not today. Walking on rough grass was hard work too thanks to it being deep frozen.

I worked outside in driven snow for most of the morning. Now the sun has come out and the snow stopped. A shopping ride is indicated after lunch. It never happened. The snow showers continued into the afternoon by which time there was a couple of inches lying. The wind made it feel so bitterly cold I returned indoors.

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12th February 2018 Avoid Halfords!

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Monday 12th 35-37F, +2-3C, heavy overcast and wintry showers with strong overnight gales slowly subsiding. It was blowing hard enough to wake us up at 3am! There was a certain drabness about the patchy snow after rain. Five stripes of translucent slush made road spray more of a hazard than usual. Short bouts of sunshine are teasing us for more. Still blowing quite hard at times.

I'm still thoroughly enjoying  my GripGrab 'Nordic" gloves. A revelation after decades of cold hands. They are quite amazing at insulating my hands from cold and wind chill without the slightest overheating. Which is a slightly strange feeling after decades of sweatiness from alternatives. They are nicely flexible and have brilliant reflective details for after dark use. They were glowing brightly just from the light of a north facing window just now.

All this really matters for night time commuters. Whether they cycle, run or walk. The 'printed' rubber palms provide a nice level of grip without stiffness. I had a pair of supermarket bought winter gloves for driving and they felt like I was wearing welder's, hide mitts when the steering wheel was bitterly cold the other day.

The Nordic's unusual, lobster claw design works fine on dropped handlebars. A separate fully fingered glove sits inside the outer shell. Not a good day for tricycling, with or without gloves.

Tuesday 13th 32-36F, 0+2C, very heavy overcast with light winds. Some sunshine is threatened. Another dull walk under a grey sky. A flock of about 100 tiny birds were moving from tree to tree. The only one I could catch in my binoculars looked like a Yellowhammer.

Late morning ride to the shops. Several drivers brushed past, much too close.  Only to stop and wait for oncoming traffic before they could turn.  Obviously far too low an intellect to be driving. Only 7 miles. It finally brightened up in the afternoon to sunshine.

Wednesday 14th 26F, -3C, hard white frost, light winds at first, clear with sunshine promised. Early thin, high cloud cleared to blinding sunshine as I walked to the woods. The granular, refrozen snow was very crunchy under my boots. The puddles fragile and even more noisy. The iron hard ground unforgiving  of sure footing.

I walked uphill through the woods to discover what the chainsawing was all about. They were clearing a patch of semi-mature beeches. I came back via the circuitous marsh path to find the large pond bereft of birds. Even the herons were out on the fields instead of monitoring duck movements.

Thursday 15th 32F, 0C, starting windy and getting worse. Cold walk in a gale, with my eyes watering behind the yellow glasses. Despite wind roaring in the trees I set off for the shops on the trike. Only managing 7-10mph going into a headwind at 100rpm. Returned at 16-18mph just in time as the snow began. Only 7 miles. Expecting about 3" of snow this afternoon.

Friday 16th 32-36F, 0-2C, light breeze,  2-3" of new snow. Occasional brightness when the low sun can peer between highly variable clouds. The roads had been treated but the traffic was leaving long strips of slush. Making good sense of my strategy of removing myself from the road. To let them make their own decisions as to their route and speed.

Several juggernauts passed at high speed. Throwing up huge spray clouds which took their time to fall back to the ground. I had thrown all caution to the winds and wore a large pair of cycling sunglasses. Well, you have to. Don't you? Due to an absence of floats today's ride was cancelled. The drive was completely awash with wet snow as it rained and thawed.

Saturday 17th 34-38F, 1-3C, calm, with a heavy overcast. Some brightness threatened for later. Yesterday's rain and positive temperatures continue to eat into the snow. The first day of the year with lots of birds singing. Talk about blind optimism! A large bird of prey was sitting on the very tip of a tree in the marsh and looking around on the ground. I have had a fellow walker on the track to the woods. Fortunately our paths have not crossed away from the road. Dull, but a good day for tricycling. With not a breath of wind.

Late morning ride. The wind turbines were all still. Grey skies without any sunshine. Rather slower on the way home. 15 miles. The slightly warmer weather has caused the permafrost to melt in soil and gravel drives. Making lawn surfaces liquid and the gravel like riding on soft sand. Both are very hard work!

Sunday 18th 32-38F, 0-3C, very cloudy but with some variation. A repeat of yesterday's weather but with more wind. A gentle breeze was welcomed by all the birds. Which suddenly seemed to have come out of the woodwork. Including a colourful bird of prey with a long black tail too distant to see more detail. A small flock of Goldfinches were busy in the hedgerow. Great tits and blue tits added their calls as they moved through the tops of the roadside trees. The traffic was pleasantly light. Allowing village church bells to reach me at intervals across the drab and scruffy fields. Only small patches of snow remain except where deep shade allows it to cling on beyond its melt by date.

38F and quite a lot of sunshine by mid afternoon. I rode to the shops wearing the lighter GripGrab gloves. Glad it wasn't any further. Coming back they were quite comfortable. Plenty of birds of prey lurking in the trees. Only 7 miles.

A general health warning to the disabled in Gravely Blighted: 
Avoid Halfords! Particularly if you have squeaky shoes! 
"We don't care! Not welcome here! Okay?"

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-43033055

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9th February 2018 Snowscenes r' Us

Friday 9th 27-33F, -3+1C, light winds and quite a clear sky but distant views are slightly misty. Walked up to the woods and back down another way. Somebody was sawing down a large tree in the forest but I couldn't see anything. Not even after the loud crash as it fell.

The sun was behind a smokey filter today. Rising as a deep red orb as I left home but becoming progressively softer through thin, misty clouds. A single, white to pale, bird of prey moved away and circled. Perhaps hoping it could return to its perch. The verge was badly chewed up where a large lorry had fallen of the road on a corner. Leaving thick mud on the road. Which I had to skirt as more lorries thundered past and oncoming cars slowed. The low sun obscuring their view of that rare sight. A walker on a rural road. Shopped for very heavy stuff in the car.

Saturday 10th 23F, -5C, almost calm, clear but misty skies. A repeat of yesterday's weather with weak sunshine filtered by very thin clouds. It felt colder than usual on my walk to the village. An occasional, walking speed breeze was enough to make my eyes water.

The ponds are hard frozen over with snow lying on top of the ice. The same was true of the lake at a stately home. A smooth, even, white carpet as far as the eye could see. Several, large birds of prey holding trees down. Rode to Assens and back. Not as fit as I was in the crosswind as the clouds hid the sun. Getting quite breathless on the hills but kept up my cadence. A young MTB rider went past and ignored my greeting. So I chased him for a while but was soon dropped. 18 miles.

Sunday 11th 33F, +1C, windy, overcast and snowing heavily. Stormy gusts to 60mph later as the snow turns to sleet and then rain. I decided to add some spice to my morning walk by going out  in the near blizzard wearing my alpine gaiters and yellow glasses. Having dodged the traffic, to avoid them braking or altering course, I walked back across a rough field. Not quite a winter ascent but good fun all the same. Very little chance of a ride today so I scraped the drive with the long handled, snow shovel for some exercise.The storm force winds have been downgraded to 20m/s, 45mph peaking in the early hours. The snow turned to rain after a couple of inches fell.

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5th February 2018 Give me sunshine! 😎

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Monday 5th 24F -4C, calm but cloudy. The forecast suggests sunshine but they said that yesterday and there wasn't. Still about an inch of snow lying. I know it's cold in the shed when the snow on the trike is still there several days later. Sometimes it freezes itself to the wooden floor.

I tried to catch the cloud shadows moving across the low hills without much success. The image looks much better at full resolution on a 24" monitor. I have to resize down to 1200 pixels to avoid interminable download times for those on  slow connections. Click for an enlargement if you can.

I keep trying to tidy up a bit but that means taking stuff outside and that's not very sensible with snow on the ground. Nor with constant rain falling. It has been wetter this winter than we can ever remember. With the gravel drive more squishy than solid for literally months on end. Even the frost takes its time to make it easily walkable. It seems to take forever for the puddles to freeze solid. Usually they evaporate away under the ice leaving a fragile and noisy surface.

Another longer walk around the marsh, up through the fire breaks in the forest and back along the track. Several large herons were moving away from me or circling behind the trees.  Bright sunshine added a sparkle to the snow. A pale bird of prey, probably a Goshawk, eyed me as I approached its roadside tree. Only reluctantly moving away at the last moment when a vast container truck made a racket with its brakes. I presume these birds are hungry from the lack of easy prey and saving energy whenever they can. Still 26F, -3C at 11am despite the warm sunshine.

Tuesday 6th 26-32F, -3-0C, overcast and calm, with light snow falling for much of the morning. A short burst of sunshine late morning. Walked for an hour and a quarter in light snow. Not really accumulating though. Several birds of prey sitting out on the fields and watching from high trees. I disturbed a flock of Fieldfares in the hedges.

Late afternoon ride to the shops by which time it had reach freezing point with a light crosswind. I was perfectly comfortable in my winter gear but the the wind still felt very cold on my face. Only 7 miles.

Wednesday 7th 20-32F, -7-0C, breezy with broken cloud and another threat of some sunshine. Walked the three miles around the rural block. It started with bright sunshine and light snow falling but both gave up eventually. Becoming more cloudy. Saw six Whooper swans crossing with two large geese flying in their midst. A cormorant and several birds of prey added their presence. Surprising amount of agricultural activity with tractors going both ways with trailers and implements. It looks as if the pig's muck spreading is starting early.
Had to distance shop in the car.

Thursday 8th 23-34F, -5+1C, slightly misty, calm and almost clear. Most of the cloud has disappeared to leave bright sunshine. It looks rather cold with the snow, misty distances and frost on the trees and hedges. Fieldfares were pretending to be blackbirds. I keep disturbing small flocks of Quail hiding behind roadside hedges. They'd be quite safe if they stayed still but insist on flying away with rapid and noisy wing beats. A continuously sunny day but I was busy and not allowed out.

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3rd February 2018 A bit chilly.

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Saturday 3rd 28-30F,-2-1C, overcast with a very thin covering of snow. More snow showers forecast for today and particularly overnight. A 40 minute walk to the lanes in frozen rain and a cold, north easterly wind. The GG Nordic gloves provided perfect comfort.

Is it the beginning of the end for the big tech ogres? UnIntel, iRottenApple, Gloogle, Mess and Farcebook have been found sorely wanting of late. Will their despotic leaderships founder on the massive fatbergs of their own making? It seems the false advertising props supporting human creativity are about to be crushed. By the sheer weight of all the crap they have allowed to overburden the rich seams of that human creativity. Even Deep-fake cannot hide the blemishes on these hideous tech ogres when it is finally seen they really do have no clothes to their name. As they retreat to their own shores, carrying their trillions in unpaid global taxes, we must wait to see if they can regroup as honest Netizens.

Another day without a ride as fine, granular snow slowly accumulated. I have been watching more bad driving videos on YT, even tough I shouldn't. The major problem seems to be driver's ridiculously inflated sense of status. This produces psychopathic behavior in many drivers. They have de-humanised all other traffic to a lower status and see all other drivers as unworthy of the slightest care or even basic survival.

If you want the perfect example of mass driver sociopathy in action watch the Russian "Stop a Douchebag" videos. Many of the drivers, stopped by these brave young people, seem to be carrying an 'emperor complex.' They consider themselves far too important to be stopped by mere pedestrians on a pedestrian footpath. No doubt the same mentality applies to the drink driving problem shown in countless other videos of Russian, driving mayhem.

The hideously corrupt police are often equally as guilty in allowing such crimes, even showing their total indifference to the law on camera. Such police behavior should never be tolerated and the films used to rid the Russian streets of these worthless "officers."

The violence the young activists often  face, while the Russian police scum look on, with complete indifference, is mind boggling. Though what can you expect when the whole country is rotten from literally, top to the bottom of the vodka bottle?

Sunday 4th 32F, 0C, Heavy overcast and windy. No more than a couple of inches of overnight snow lying. More snow showers possible this morning. A good long walk anticlockwise up to the woods and back again. A cutting wind made it feel as if frostbite was imminent on the first leg along the road. Stopping to take photographs was a painful experience for my hands. Then I gained the shelter of mature hedgerows and enjoyed their protection. It felt almost still in the lee of the woods as I crunched my way back downhill. There were numerous tracks from the largest dogs to a tiny mouse. With deer and hare tracks in between. Though I saw none of them in the flesh [or rather fur.] No ride today.  

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1st February 2018 A little bit of weather.

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Thursday 1st February, 26F, 2C, windy and rather grey after quite a clear night with bright moonlight. Wintry showers and 30mph gusts promised in the forecast. As if on queue, February will mark a decided drop in temperature. With continuous sub-zero temperatures day and night all next week. Thankfully it seems more settled than of late.

 A 40 minute, brisk walk, down around the village church and back again . It makes a handy target when the distant forest does not beckon and the traffic is light. A keen wind again today, with very few birds about except for another large heron. Which went off to skulk in the threadbare marsh woods. Mostly dark and battered Alder in the wetter parts. With some sparse willows and birches further on in the drier, grassier parts. The trees become much denser further away from the village.

Gnarled old elders have found a home along the edges of the marsh. Where they collect bright green moss. The area is a refuge for many birds in warmer seasons. With few distractions apart from the huge tractors and machines working the enveloping fields at seemingly rare intervals. The most regular visitor is the chap in the 4WD who replenishes the pheasant feeders. Dark green, plastic barrels filled with grain. A conical spring on the bottom slowly doles out the contents on demand to pecking or gravity. Three timber legs are bolted to the barrel sides to support them off the ground.

I managed a short ride to the shops in the late afternoon in a strong crosswind. After being closely brushed by cars overtaking as the only oncoming car arrived, I put my flashing rear lights on for the journey home. This had a surprising effect with several cars hanging back to wait for a clear gap ahead. I gave each a wave of thanks as usual, as they passed at a safe distance. Only 7 miles.

Friday 2nd 36F, 2C, a heavy overcast and rather still. Wintry showers possible after a windy night with heavy rain. It rained steadily during my 40 minute walk. I had to take to the verges repeatedly. With each passing vehicle throwing up a vast cloud of spray. Of course there were occasional zombies. Who failed miserably to alter their course despite the lack of oncoming traffic. No doubt they were on their way to bully colleagues, customers and other subordinates to their exalted status. Ruling as demigods in their own fantasy worlds as if it were their right of birth. No ride today.

The new January temperature record of 12.9C at Sønderborg has not survived the DMI's critical tests. A reference thermometer read 0.3C lower. The site was also compared with nearby weather stations and found to be a bit of a local hotspot. That's the good thing about science. Fiction and reality are soon parted. The desire to set new records is safely tempered by sober analysis.

It always amuses me that people set up small weather stations and then proudly post their data 'live' online as if it had some scientific merit. Subsequent images show their anemometers are measuring the wind from under the eaves of a single story bungalow. Often behind a tall bush in a garden full of similar bushes. Which completely negates any useful readings should the wind ever manage to penetrate that far.

My own anemometer is some 20' of the ground on a mast out in the middle of the garden which is surrounded by tall trees. Even if I set the instrument on top of a regulation 30' mast it would still be badly affect by the surrounding 'shrubbery.'

The meteorological standards call for an open field, rural site. With the instrument placed at 10m or roughly 30' above clear ground. Ironically, my interest in weather and climate was triggered by the popular fiction of a new ice age several decades back in the last century. This was closely followed by a lifelong interest in alternative energy, insulation and improved glazing.

Both cycling and walking make one far more aware of the weather than driving commuters. Who often complain about a little ice on the windscreen a couple of times a year. What we consider extreme weather in Europe is soon trounced by another part of the world. Often quite literally doubling our record heatwave or frost temperatures, rain or snowfall with new records of their own. 

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