Spring is here?

So the other day was the Spring equinox.  Depending on how you look at it, today is either the 3rd or the 4th day of Spring.  Last year at this time, we were closing in on 19 or 20 Celsius.  Today, it’s below freezing and I’m seeing snow drifts deeper than anything I’ve seen for the past thirty odd years, since I was a child.

It does seem a little odd to me, so far into the year, that I’m wearing a Bear Grylls Arctic Polar jacket and thermal underwear :

Elf Portrait
Elf Portrait

Yesterday, at work, it seemed the snow wouldn’t settle.  We had a slight dusting on some of the roofs, but nothing to write home (or blog) about!  At around 17:30, it started to come down quite heavily, so I drove home quickly.  Within an hour or so, the streets were barely passable, the buses had been diverted, and we had a decent covering.  After a few hours watching the snow, and stupid people attempting to drive in it, we trotted off to bed.

This morning, we woke up to drifts 2 feet deep, howling wind, and scenes from the world of Christmas cards :

2 foot drifts near the gate
2 foot drifts near the gate
Deep drifts on the garden
Deep drifts on the garden
There are steps under there
There are steps under there
Greyhound Starts
Greyhound Starts

It was still lightly snowing at this time, and the snow was blowing around, filling in any depressions and drifting into dunes and ridges.  After a bit of breakfast to provide energy, I wrapped up in many huge layers, did the same to Coco the dog, then we ran up to the Winterhills for a bit of a play around.  The scenes were amazing, the snow varied within a few yards, from maybe half an inch deep, right up to my knees.  Coco loved it, and enjoyed rolling around, shoving her snout into the depths and making her own “dog angels”.

Over the wellies
Over the wellies
Drifting off the hill
Drifting off the hill
Statue
Statue
Path to Fairy Land
Path to Fairy Land
Gateway to Snowdom
Gateway to Snowdom
Desolate
Desolate
Wincobank
Wincobank
Panoramic Dog
Panoramic Dog
Keppel's Column
Keppel’s Column

After about an hour, the snow going in my wellies was making me concerned about frostbite (in March??), so I thought we’d better make our way back.  We saw some more silly people trying to take their cars on the untreated roads (and just causing damage), but the snow ploughs and gritters had done marvellous work on the main routes.

Untreated roads
Untreated roads
Neighbour's drifts
Neighbour’s drifts

Anyway, whilst the dog and I love the snow, where’s the sun?

All the pictures in this post can be clicked for larger versions, and I’ve put a little album up on Google Plus here with these and a few more.

Spring my arse!

The Zoo Keeper

 

 

 

 

By TheZooKeeper

An Azure Cloud Architect with a background in messaging and infrastructure (Wintel). Bearded dog parent who likes chocolate, doughnuts and Frank's RedHot sauce, but has not yet attempted to try all three in combination!

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