Bloody Freezin' Innit?

 

When you think it can't get colder, it does. -4 here today and any plans for work outside have gone out of the window in favour of a heated blanket and Netflix.

We are now a duckless pond.  Dot and Webster have now been gone for a few days so I think they have finally fledged properly.  Still no sign of Egwina and Duncan either, but with the pond in thick ice for well over a week now I think they are probably hunkering down wherever they are and making the best of it.

I'm fairly sure the ice is now thick enough to walk on, though this isn't something I'm going to try.  I've hit it hard this morning with a broom and not made a dent in it.  Even the free patch under the willow is now solid.  We are forecast heavy snow later so my fear that someone wont realise it's a pond and decide to run across what they think is beautiful virgin snow has returned.

The plant btw is called Gary.  Well, it's not, but I'm worse than useless at recalling plant names.  I know there is a Gary in it somewhere.  Lovely thing, has long catkins trailing from it in the winter.  Need to plant more of this type of thing this year, definitely needs more interest in the winter months. *edited to add*  Aha! It's a Garrya Eliptica.  It will always be the 'Gary Plant'.

Things are all rather quiet on the wildlife front.  Everything seems to be sensibly hiding away.  The birds are down for their seed I put out daily, robins, blue tits and the odd jay plus a couple of scruffy wood pigeons who I think are still pissed with me for chopping down their favourite 20ft Leylandai when we moved in.  They sit and stare through the window 😂


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