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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