It's cold outside

A bit more snow did arrive last night, and continued to fall sporadically all day. To be honest it wasn't much, especially compared to some other areas in Kent. When I was a kid, it would have been put your wellies on and walk to school. In this age of over reliance on cars and an age of being totally risk adverse, the country has ground to a halt.

Looking East you can see the paddock behind Foxley has a good covering of snow. I didn't see any horses out there today, it was certainly pretty cold.

The garden had a good covering and I'm not at all sure if a Badger visited last night. There were some prints out side the back of the house that may have belonged to one, but on the other hand there are a lot of moggies and Foxes around. If I do leave peanuts out the large number of pigeons, that seem to see our garden as a cafe, descend on them early in the morning, forcing me to get cold toes if I want to save them for the following evening.

The cars remained like this all day as neither of us attempted to go far. I got as far as next door to check that Chris (the old biddy) was OK, only to find she'd already trotted off to the shop to get her paper. When she came back she came by to see if we were alright, we must count as "old folk" who need checking on in adverse conditions!

I did watch the comings and goings outside, what is it about Robins that makes them so photogenic. One thing I didn't see today was a single House Sparrow.

As well as this Grey Wagtail, a first for the winter in the garden, a Song Thrush came down to bath in the "stream" It kept it's back and tail towards me nad dashed into the bushes as soon as it finished, obviously camera shy.

A Pied Wagtail completed the pair and spent most of it's time just out side the window. It been around the area for a while, often calling for a roof, but it took the harsh weather to bring it down to the feeding station.

There were several Great Tits around, dashing in for a seed and the straight into cover to eat it, and then returning for the next one. They could save a lot of energy if they adopted the more sedentary approach of the Goldfinches.

Although there are lots of berries left on the bushes there are also an incresing number of Blackbirds queuing to eat them. Well, not really queuing, more squabbling, a bit like the french at a bus stop. This youngster worked out the best strategy was to come over to the patio and wait ofr the seeds that the finches dropped.

I think that this Robin would have come right in if I'd opened the doors. He seemed to be looking at me, in my comfortable chair, cup of tea and warm house with some envy. We'll try and find some treats for him tomorrow, sunflower seeds must get a bit boring.

While it was snowing I noticed this Magpie clinging to a nearly empty fatball holder. I haven't got any at the moment to replensh it, and this is the first time I've seen a Magpie actually on the feeder. When I can get out to Malibu Grains at Shatterling.