This was Tuesday morning. We have had another 4 inches since then.We awoke on Tuesday to the promised snow. Can you believe the weather men actually got it right? Monday, number one daughter and I had gone into town (a non pupil/teacher training day) and although it was chilly, the roads were dry and clear. Twelve hours later, the white stuff was falling and Essex ground to a halt. It took my brother-in-law 9, yes you did read that correctly, NINE hours to get home from work last night, a journey which is usually little more than an hour and a half. Of course, with the snow, the schools have closed, and our little cul-de-sac is like a skid pan, so we have been house bound. Or do I mean home bound? We have ventured out into the street and enjoyed huge snowball fights with the neighbourhood kids, and we have ventured down the garden to tend to the livestock.
The guinea piggies aren't keen on the cold as their water bottles keep freezing solid. Hubby has now lagged their cage, which I hasten to add is a thick plastic/fibre glass jobee so actually, completely draft proof, so their bottles now remain fluid. I cleaned them out so they weren't standing on damp shavings and gave them an entire bag of sawdust to nestle down in and a complete bag of straw to snuggle up in. They have a big bowl of food, so hopefully they will be cosy until this nasty weather passes.
The quailly birds hate the cold even more. I did have a warm air heater in the greenhouse with them, but to be honest, all it did was create a cool draft, so that has gone. The greenhouse is double lagged with bubble wrap, and they are also now nestling down on an entire bag on sawdust and an entire sack of straw. Their big pots are loosely packed with the straw, and bless them, they huddle in pairs within the nests. No eggs now for over 2 weeks...well, that is a fib, every once in a while, one is laid, no idea who from, but I imagine with this rotten cold, they will stop altogether now. Hopefully they will survive this cold snap. Tomorrow, as gardening is now out of the question, I will have the day off, again, so will trundle down to the pet shop in the village and get another sack of straw to give them a top dressing.
