20 December: Cold

Round here the temperature has barely crept above zero for days. This morning the thermometer in the conservatory (unheated since last winter) showed just above zero, when it has been hovering at 4 or 5 degrees. The windows were pretty, though -


Fortunately I have just finished a lap blanket which has been in progress for a couple of months.


The grey Shetland is handspun from a fleece bought at Woolfest, and the coloured squares (because there wasn't quite enough grey) are knitted from handspun Shetland yarn, home-dyed, from the stash.

Another cold-beating item is this cowl or neckwarmer knitted from some handspun merino. The drop-stitch pattern makes it stretchy and extra warm.

15 December: Ice wave

The snow and ice are gradually melting away (except on the pavements locally).

The heap of snow in our back garden is making some strange shapes as it thaws. This one is rather interesting -

29 November: Snow

Another snow picture.

Our garden bench, in the sheltered corner. I knocked some snow off the shrubs and trees in the garden and topped up the bird feeders, while my Dear Husband dug the car out and cleared the front drive.

Our estate is always difficult when it's icy and snowy, so I waded up to the main road to see what conditions were like there. Just about passable, though there was an abandoned vehicle. The were buses getting along OK but cautiously.

Very few cars have even tried to go up our street, but there are plenty of people out, all cheerful in adversity. And a day off work, from the look of it.

Plenty more to come. How fortunate that we have a large supply of woolly hats, mittens and scarves.

22 November: Winter draws on

Just as the first lawn-mower indicates spring, so the first snow-plough indicates winter. There was a snow-plough going along the A167 near Croxdale this morning - be warned!

13 June: World Championship

Today we competed in the Fifth World Wand Championship at Raby Castle, a longbow competition. It rained. The morning was taken up with the Championship itself - 13 ends of 3 arrows each, shot from various distances from 20 yards to 50 yards.

This is the set-up before shooting started -


The wands are 4 inches wide and the scoring area is about 40 inches top to bottom. The winner scored 18 hits, and was presented with the magnificent silver trophy. My Dear Husband and I did not distinguish ourselves, nor did we disgrace ourselves; we enjoyed both the shooting and meeting friendly archers from other clubs, some of whom we met at the last shoot at Raby.

The Castle made a scenic backdrop to the event, and the staff laid on an excellent lunch for us.


After lunch we had first a proper wand shoot, with everyone trying to hit inch wide and about 3 feet tall sticks stuck into the ground, from a distance of about 25 yards; there were a surprising number of hits.

Then it was the sudden death competition, in which everyone shot an end at 20 yards, then non-scorers dropped out and scorers went on to shoot at 30 yards; repeat at increasing distances until there is only one archer left. This took a while, as it reached a point where the few left in the competition all missed, and then there were several more ends needed to decide the second and third places.

It took far less time to dismantle and pack up the wet equipment than it had done to set it all out in the morning, then we came home to dry out our own kit and have a nice lie down after all the excitement.

28 February: Another sort of skein

At about a quarter part one this afternoon, a large skein of geese, perhaps 50 or 60, flew high over our house, honking gently and heading North.

There is colour at the tips of the crocus buds, in our garden and in the municipal roadside plantings.

But it's snowing again.

10 January: More snow tonight?

The slight thaw we've had all day must be official now - a snow-plough came round the estate.

Pushed all the snow off the road into everyone's carefully-cleared drives.....

3 January: Normality soon?

The regular suspension of normal life over the Christmas period, combined with weather that hampers outdoor activity, has led to a concentration on stash-reducing.

There's been another double cap made, plain brown with variegated yellow/apricot/green, and 2 triangular scarves, and a couple of "bags" - the first is knitted from Jamieson and Smith's millspun 2-ply Shetland yarn, and then felted, using a pattern called "Numbers" from knitty -


and the second is crocheted from yarn I spun a couple of years ago, from recycled plastic bottle fibre. I find the yarn is nasty to knit, but fine for crochet, and this little bag is just the right size to keep one of my bowstringers tidy -

The trouble is that this took only 15 grams out of the 200.....

(If you want to see the other knitting, pictures are on my Flickr page.)

1 January: Deep and crisp

This morning we were the only walkers without a newspaper or a dog.

Even the trees that are normally completely unremarkable make an interesting pattern -


There was a bit of blue sky towards the south -


- though it looks to be snowing to the north of the Wear valley.

When life returns to normal again next week after the holiday hiatus, I do hope the snow is not going to hamper our activities.

31 December: Irresolute

A White Christmas - snow fell on 17 December and is still here; there have been a few starts at a thaw, but never enough to clear the packed and frozen snow before more has fallen again. The only consolation of a fresh fall of another inch of snow this evening is that it reduces the chances of being woken in the middle of the night by post-pub fireworks.

Now that neither of us has to go to work (we stay at home and they just pop the money into the bank for us), we have a whole fresh New Year ahead, full of all sorts of possibilities. My Dear Husband has found a new interest, and who knows where that will lead; I have just turned 21 again, and have a list of things to try out at least as long as my arm.

But no New Year resolutions. That's just courting disappointment. Hope for the best, expect the worst, and life is full of delightful little surprises.

25 December: A breath of fresh air

We finally braved the snow and ice, and got out for a walk. After yesterday morning's fall of about 3 inches of snow, there had been a slight thaw, then a freeze overnight. But the sun shone on the path through the wood -


And the pond was sheltered from the wind -

Apart from three or four cars and two dogs taking themselves for an unaccompanied walk, we saw nobody; it was lovely and quiet.

6 December: Welcome sunshine

The sun shone on our walk round Gibside today. Look at the clear blue sky -


and here is a photo of the sun shining over the pond -


This one shows rather better what the afternoon was like -

25 November: Showers

The weather forecast was for strong winds, showers, and bright spells. So we thought we'd have a walk in Hamsterley Forest.

The shower started as we left the car, and continued with only a short break (when it dripped from the trees) until we got back, an hour and three-quarters later. The sun did come out briefly, while it was still raining; so at least there was a rainbow.

There was plenty of water already in the stream -


- looking rather like Guinness. There were a surprising number of people about, mostly on mountain bikes.

I wonder why raincoat hoods always fall down over your face, keeping your glasses dry but allowing you to see only about 6 feet in front of you?

18 July: Summer Saturday

It's been raining. And when it rains the rivers get full. We took a stroll down to the River Wear this afternoon - it had clearly gone down about 5 feet from its highest point.


The plants on the bank have all been flattened and pushed in the direction of the flow.

Several tree branches swept past us; one large piece of tree had got caught on one of the bridge girders -


The farm by the bridge was flooded. The house seemed to be OK, but the tractor in the yard was in a foot or so of water, and some children were going up and down past it in a rubber dinghy. From further up the hill we could see that the farmyard and fields were well under water.

Oddly, the river banks were above the water, separating the flooded fields from the rushing and swirling river.

11 June: Poised

The cat's at his holiday home, the car's fuelled, the luggage has been pulled out of the top of the wardrobe, it's raining - yes, it's holiday time!

I'm wondering whether to add the fleece-lined wellies to the growing stack of all-weather clothing (shorts and waterproofs, flip-flops and thick wool jerseys).

Maps and guide books are piled up with the details of the cottage we've booked; provisions have been assembled; camera batteries charged and binoculars dusted off.

Much thought has been given to the knitting project to take - and it's been cast on, so that the pattern could be checked out (remembering the time I took a pattern for socks that developed into dainty little items that would never fit my size 9 feet, and I was stuck for a week with no knitting). Wonderful yarn - merino/silk, handspun from some Wingham fibre, and another attempt at a Marianne Isager zigzag design -

And the light holiday reading is chosen - as well as the books of sudoku and of crosswords, DH has Gogol's Dead Souls and Beowulf (in translation), and I'm taking a 500-page tome called The Scourging Angel - the Black Death in the British Isles.

We know how to enjoy ourselves.

25 May: Ashes

Something which has been very noticeable this spring is how late the ash trees are with opening their leaves.

These 2 trees almost looked dead at first glance, but there are little leaflets appearing in tufts at the ends of the branches. The sycamores on each side, on the other hand, are in full leaf.

I've been trying to remember the rhyme - If the ash is before the oak, then be ready for a soak; if the oak's before the ash, then be ready for a splash (perhaps). Folk rain forecasting.

Could be a good summer.

20 March: The Green Man smiles

The Green Man smiles in the spring sunshine.

New lambs are making their appearance, and the skylark has returned.

21 February: Hamsterley coatless

At the third attempt, we made it to the forest. The first time, we forgot something, and had to go back, which was just as well, because the second time we set out, the car broke down at the top of the street!

Anyway, after the RAC had towed it away for the pump that was replaced a couple of weeks ago to be done right (we hope) this time, we took my little car, and actually got there.

Glorious sunshine when we arrived, though the wind got up and brought cloud across later. We started off on a different path from usual, made some interesting choices at junctions, and went off-path a few times. There are still plenty of places we haven't yet seen, and you can't really get lost - anyway we had both map and GPS.

Just as we were starting to feel hungry, we found a seat at a major track junction, where we munched on home-made bread rolls and fruit.

A bit later on we followed this stream down the hillside -


to the bigger stream. There was a lot of water coming off the moors above the forest and down the hillsides, and at the ford 2 mountain bikers were just about to cross. Neither of them made it with dry feet, but they did clean their bikes a bit!


The footbridge a few hundred yards further on was our preferred option, beyond this little waterfall-y bit, then we explored another path that was new to us, before returning to more familiar tracks.

As usual, there were few people about in the further parts of the forest, but there were lots of families nearer the car park. A good day to be out and about; the jacket, magic overtrousers, woolly hat and mittens, all stayed in my smart new daybag; a long-sleeved T-shirt and a good wool jersey were all that was required (yes, trousers as well!).

Heavens, at this rate, I may need to look for my shorts next month!

12 February: Still no snow photos

Happy (significant) Birthday, DD!

Just when it had thawed a bit yesterday, today it snowed constantly all day. DH, extremely glad he didn't have to go out, spent the day moving bits of furniture round, and setting up his hi-fi system in his new playroom study.

And for our tea we had comfort food - chips with our omelette, and then a tin of fruit cocktail. Do you remember when a tin of fruit cocktail was a touch of luxury?

And here are a couple of photos as a reminder that sometimes the sun shines warmly and the flowers bloom:

10 February: No snow photos

Well, I haven't had a minute.

It's not that life has gone into slow motion; more that now there's two of us doing not very much, it seems to take twice as long! (And getting at the computer during the day is now half as likely.)

And all this snow doesn't help. Living above the snow-line as we do, the street in front of the house has been thick with ice for what seems like weeks - in the shadow of the houses it takes ages to melt. The main roads, of course, are clear, but local pavements are still treacherous, and as a visit to A & E is unappealing any foray out of the house has to be carefully negotiated.

In fact I am thoroughly fed up with the snow and ice hampering everything we want to do, and would be most grateful if it would just go away.