Sunday 27 December 2009

Winter here and there

Window view of birds snow and hills

The long snowy spell for the last week or so has been beautiful, although a bit treacherous at times. The number of birds outside our kitchen window has increased dramatically, going from 2 blackbirds initially to about 10 once word had got around; there were 4 robins and 10 starlings, some standing on top of each other. We've had to put out prodigious amounts of seeds and peanuts, as well as keep the water bowls free of ice - and bread at times. A red squirrel visited us a couple of times.

Festive StarlingRed SquirrelBlackbird on frozen wireSnowy mounds with tracksBare snowy branches reach skyward

The view towards High Street and Haweswater has been amazing:
Snowy view to Haweswater and High Street

Hazy snowy viewBreak in clouds
Bare snowy branches reach skywardSnow wall

Viv and I made a couple of snow robins, although it looks very bloody:

Sentinel snow robin

On short walks towards Knipe Scar, we've seen lapwings and fieldfares by the small streams nearby, along with a grey wagtail. The stonechat high in the ash tree confused us initially as these aren't normally so high. Further on we saw fallow deer nipping away through the woods, and interesting tracks through the snow.
LapwingGrey WagtailStonechat high in ash treeDeer in woodTracks in snowTracks in snow

Can you suggest a caption for the photo of this wren underneath a large rook's nest?
Is this my nest?

We found time for the odd snowball, but quite powdery snow so it didn't hurt, though cold going down your neck.
Snowball fight

Can you see why this local feature is called "the eyebrows": The Eyebrows

After being out, we've treated ourselves to some pancakes, made using soya milk and no eggs as normal:
Pancake

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