Saturday 19 January 2013

Ducks on the Ice

Well, here we are, talking about the weather again! It's only a few weeks since normal life was halted by floods. Now everything is disrupted by snow, which may be no great shakes to those of you living in colder climes, but is the main talking point here in the UK, where we never seem to be prepared for anything - the weather always seems to take us by surprise - whether it's wind, rain, snow or sunshine! So really, my Saturday Snapshot photos this week could only be weather pictures.
In fact, weatherwise it's been a bit of an odd week. On Monday I woke to find everything covered in a fine layer of snow, not very deep, but definitely more than a sprinkling. We had snow, sleet, rain and more snow, but it was that wet kind of snow, which doesn't settle.
I went for a walk across the Castle/Pleasure Grounds, round by the side of the Snow Dome (who needs it in weather like this!), across the grass to the lake to look at the swans, back under the roadbridge, and then over this nice green and yellow bridge to the out-of-town shopping area. Thanks to the boots, my feet were warm and dry, but the rest of me was so cold and wet I bought new gloves and a woollen snood to try and get warm, then walked into town and caught a bus home!
On Tuesday, as you can see in the picture above, the sky was blue, and the sun shone, even if it didn't give out much warmth, and there wasn't a trace of snow or ice.
But on Wednesday the temperature dropped, and a heavy frost turned the landscape into a sparkling winter wonderland. This holly looked a variegated species, but the white around the edges is frost, and the little speckles on the surface (which look like hairs)  are little spikes of frost.
And I love way the berries and leaves on the plant pictured above were covered in frost as well, looking like a picture on a Christmas card.

Thursday was cold and dull, but on Friday winter set in with a vengeance - it was a white-out! It snowed... and snowed... and snowed... kids were sent home from school, buses and trains were cancelled, roads were impassable... so I braved the elements and walked as far as the canal, where I peered over the snow-covered bridge to take this picture because I was so intrigued by the winding shape of snow on the centre of the frozen water. I wish I knew why it had settled like that!
 Today it's not quite as cold, and it hasn't snowed, but there's no sign of a thaw and, according to the forecast, there's more snow on the way. But we were determined to get some fresh air and enjoy the wintry scene, so we went for a short walk along the towpath. The canal was frozen, except for the areas around the bridges, and the path was very snowy, but not icy or or slippery, so it wasn't too bad underfoot. I couldn't resist taking pictures of ducks in the snow and on the ice.
More Saturday Snapshot pictures are hosted by Alyce at http://athomewithbooks.net/

44 comments:

  1. Your weather report was so much fun! Much livelier when illustrated by gorgeous photos. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you Laurel-Rain. I'll go out in most weathers, but when it thunders (or even if it looks as if it might) I hide away!

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  2. We've had snow since Monday. No sign of a thaw at all and more snow forecast for the next few days.

    I love your photo of the ducks walking on the ice and the holly and berries are beautiful. I like small doses of snow, but get tired of it when it sticks around.

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    1. I agree with you about only liking snow in small does, and I hate driving in it. It still looks pretty at the moment, but it would be nice to know there's a thaw on the way - only then I expect we'll have floods again.

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  3. Lovely pictures! I'm in Manitoba, Canada and we have lots of snow and more coming down as I write this. I love winters with lots of snow and cold.

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    1. I guess you wonder why we make such a fuss about snow! We went for a number of winters with no snow, but this is the third year running there's been a lot. I'm not so keen when it goes on and on, but it's still a novelty at the moment.

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  4. I love the textures in the close-up plant images. Great post!

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    1. Thank you Zan. The holly was amazing - it was part of a hedge, and I got some very odd looks from people while I was crouched beside it, as close as I could get, trying to take pictures!

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  5. I love your snowy photos! I moved away from the snow many years ago and really miss it!
    Here's My Photo

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    1. Thank you Vicki - I like snow when it first falls, but I go off it fairly quickly!

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  6. I love your photos of the frosty holly and berries. Our snow has already gone all slushie, but I think more may be on the way.

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    1. I'm glad you like them. The snow is still here, and shows no signs of thawing - it's dirty and slushy on the roads where the traffic has been, but compacted and icy on the paths, and gardens, trees, walls etc are still covered.

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  7. Are you sure you are not in Melbourne? I love the shots with the frosts-even the ducks with snow are great. What was your speciality as a journalist?

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    1. Quite sure! I worked on a local paper, which was very community based,so we all tended to bits of everything, but I used to a lot of council reporting, covering elections etc - politics fascinated me. Then I did subbing for a few years, on the same paper.

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  8. Those frost-covered leaves are beautiful! So lacy and lovely.

    And the ducks in a row are adorable.

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    1. They are great, aren't they! They looked as if they were playing Follow my Leader.

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  9. These are amazing shots. The holly is my favorite. Love the beauty created by the frosty borders. Beautiful.

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    1. Thank you. I think things look more beautiful covered in frost than they do in the snow.

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  10. Great snow and ice photos - especially the one with the holly!

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    1. Everyone seems to like holly Alyce - I was almost standing in the hedge to get shots, and the leaves were jolly prickly!

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  11. I like the frosted Holly bushes. THANKS for sharing and for stopping by my blog earlier today.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews

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    1. Thank you Elizabeth - the holly really took me b surprise with the way the edges were frosted, and the tiny spikes of frost speckling the surface of the leaves.

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  12. Great looking photos of your variety of weather! We are expecting a major snow storm this weekend.

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    1. Ooh, I hope it's not too bad where you are. I think the forecast is for more snow here today - it certainly looks bleak outside.

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  13. Very nice capture of the frost on the holly♫♪ Here in Chicagoland we are looking to be in the teens! Happy week-end♥

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    1. Sounds warmer than it is here - it's well below freezing still!

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  14. I love that frost on the holly! And you just can't get cuter than those ducks :)

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    1. I like ducks - wherever I go I end up photographing them, but these were pretty special.

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  15. I see snow all the time, but somehow yours over there looks so different, exquisite even. Wonderful photos, esp. those frosted plants and flowers. And ducks on the pond, not in it, is exceptional!

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    1. It looks lovely Arti, but sadly we're not geared up to deal with it like people do in places like Canada, Russia, Scandanavia, and parts of America and Europe. Everything comes to a halt!

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  16. Snow imparts a different type of beauty, almost like purity.

    First snow, frost, ice and frozen pond-beautiful.

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    1. The light is always different when it snows, and that makes the world look different I think - I suppose it's the reflection from the snow.

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  17. Amazing photos this week. I love the frost on the holly and berries, the wind patterns on the river and the ducks!!
    We've just had a 45C degree day - your photos are a lovely bretah of cool air :-)

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    1. After the terrible wet summer, and the floods before Christmas, and now freezing temperatures, frost, ice and snow, I think most of us here in the UK would welcome a breath of hot air!

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  18. The ducks on the ice are very cute and I love the frost on the holly leaf.

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    1. Paulita, the ducks looked really strange walking on the ice!

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  19. LOVE the two holly photos, Christine! The color combined with the snow and iciness. Wonderful. Love the little duckies on the ice. So cute. Have a great week.

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    1. Thank you Frances. I was pleased with those pictures they seemed to capture the feel of the ice and the snow.

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  20. The pix with the berries would suit a Christmas card. Very pretty! And the second picture made me shiver, I could just imagine the temperature!

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    1. The berries made me think of Christmas, but iy's certainly very shivery.

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  21. The ducks don't seem too happy to be walking on water rather than floating. One of the only good things about winter are the unusual photo ops.

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    1. I have some other pictures of ducks that I took the previous day, when the weather was really, really bad, and they look ever so miserable and bewildered, all huddled together on the ice.

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  22. love these photos and a fun post.. especially love the frosted holly.

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the post and the photos - I enjoyed taking the photos.

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