Friday 17th December saw our first downfall of the white fluffy stuff!

It fell over-night and covered the landscape to a depth of about 3". The dogs thought it was absolutely great and tore about the garden stopping for a moment to roll in it! They seemed to have difficulty trying to find their usual toileting spot and took ages to 'do the business', or perhaps it was deliberate delaying tactics on their behalf because they were having so much fun. I was freezing all the while and wanted to get back inside in order to light the log burner!

So, this morning 18th December more snow had fallen overnight and this time it was a more substantial dump - approx 6", I say approximately because my measurement is inaccurate: it relates to how high it reached against the bodies of the Yorkies who are 2-hands-high.

Caro examines her snowy legs and decides the best course of action is to eat the snow!

Little balls of snow had stuck all through her long hair and you can probably tell she got very wet in the process.

The other two dogs Rhia, Caro's sibling, and Pepsi the old lady of the pack, were also covered in these little balls of snow. Their tactic for removing them was different: they raced around the house shaking themselves furiously .. it didn't help to remove the snow but by the time they had finished shaking, rolling and spinning, the snow had actually melted. This of course is why I cannot show you pictures of them, they just refused to stay in one spot long enough for me to take the shot!

Slight panick this morning

My OH was travelling back from a business trip late last night and his ETA at Swansea train station was just after 02:00 am in the early hours of the morning. You can probably see where I'm heading with this - did he make it home considering the weather conditions he had to face overnight? Well eventually he did - at 04:00 am.

The train arrived on time and he collected the car from the long-stay carpark however getting from the station to Gower was an absolute nightmare. He related the story to me this morning. Driving through the centre of Swansea along the Kingsway he was amazed at how many young people were milling around having exited the night clubs around about that time. He was aghast at the minimal clothing worn by some of the young women and the fact that they were wearing strappy 4" stilettoe heeled sandals.

The problem soon became apparent. There were no taxis running out of Swansea because of the dreadful road conditions. Sensible approach when you think about it, and it's a shame the young night-clubbers weren't as sensible about venturing out on such an arctic night.

My OH is a kind and generous type of guy but I'm SO glad he took the decision he did, not to stop to pick up these drunken abusive people who tried to stop the vehicle by standing in front of it and hurling abuse.

He managed to traverse the icy, snow-covered main road across town and on to Fairwood however with a 'dingly-dell' to get through and a 'not insubstantial hill' to climb he decided to park up in a lay-by and walk the rest of the way home. He arrived home some time just after 04:00 am.

These are photographs I took at 07:00 hrs this morning on waking and taking the dogs our for their first toileting stop:

WINTER WONDERLAND

EARLY MORNING SUNLIGHT BRAKING ON THE FARM TRACK - OH'S FOOTRPINTS IN SNOW

WHEN I SAW THE ROAD LEADING TO OUR FARM TRACK I REALISED OH HAD NOT DRIVEN HOME, OR TAKEN A TAXI HE HAD WALKED HOME!

MIST AND SNOW ON MOORLAND OUTSIDE THE FARMHOUSE.

I took these photo's with my iPhone so they aren't the best quality photos but too good not to share with you.

It's a beautifully sunny day now so I expect we will attempt to take the three Yorkies to the beach a little later for a full blown blast to get rid of some of their energy: otherwise we'll have to endure their antics indoors while they expend some of it by racing from room to room chasing each other! Wish us luck either way!