Life with cats, and other things…
1351/7th march 2026 The receding icecap! The hill across the valley receives endless sunlight, so in moderating temperatures, their snowcap quickly began to dissolve. . A grey morning had turned into a fine day and in late afternoon I went out to enjoy the balmy air and a lovely sky. With much less sunlight, our … Continue reading Sky gazer
0731/8th March 2026 Saturday night as I was reading there came a sound I'd not heard for many weeks: Torrential rain - a good sound. The cats were not advised of the time change, so Lily's wake-up call did not occur until 0530 on Sunday, at which hour the day was just unveiling itself. It … Continue reading Sweet sounds
1745/2nd March 2026 It is well known that telling a child not to do something is the surest way of guaranteeing it will. Likewise, protecting a young person from uncomfortable truths will only inspire the child to uncover them. While our parents may not have spoken much of WW2, children of my generation, the so-called … Continue reading Heroes and cowards
5th March 2026 Grey days are not totally without merit, but we had been spoiled by such a long succession of brilliant skies, it made an impromptu excursion unappealing yesterday. Yet I was loath to turn it down. The man was bound to come home and tell me he'd seen a unicorn if I allowed … Continue reading Mood lifters
1507/4th March 2026. Heavy overcast? Thursday morning's Weather Advisory! warned of "Rain and winds gusting up to 7 mph" and I wondered when such a forecast became a matter of such concern. Later, it became "Sleet with wind speed increasing to 13 mph." It materialised as drizzle and an eventual thin layer of snow, the … Continue reading Forecasts
4th March 2026 . "I feel like Sisyphus!" said Grant, going out to shovel the latest snowfall. Temperatures were just cold enough yesterday for precipitation to arrive in frozen form. Wet and heavy. Hungry pussycats had persuaded us to rise early, in time to view the dawn... . The forecast was wrong again? . 0614/3rd … Continue reading Sisyphus
2nd March 2026 Passing the slope where we recently caught sight of a fox, we noticed that the pigeons were not assembled on the power lines where they usually observe our approach. But we caught up with them just the other side of the hill and this perch was far enough from the road that … Continue reading No polar explorer
0633/28th February 2026 Sometimes the simplest things make the prettiest picture. A single contrail, the slightest hint of a cloud in a clear morning sky. . And the Sun breaking the horizon. . A second contrail soon followed the earlier one. Attempts to include an icicle in the photograph were unsuccessful. They just don't belong … Continue reading Simple sights
Evidence that peaceful coexistence is possible. March was ushered in with snow on Sunday. It vamoosed before I could even get to my camera, but early on Sunday morning we had the first sighting of a groundhog. As always after their hibernation, it looked thin and rather pathetic, all the more in pouring snow. It … Continue reading First and last sightings
0701/27th February 2026 Friday began like this, with my favourite sort of winter scene. Frost in the trees, tracks through snow and long dark shadows on pristine white fields. . It's just as well the recent blizzard passed us by. 30 more inches on top of what we still have could be problematic. As it … Continue reading Old Depot Loop