Looking Back

At this time of year, as the seconds tick away 2013 and we all look forward to 2014 (!?), it's nice to review the past year and revisit some of the good times we've had.  Things started well with flocks of Waxwings seen flitting about the area, feeding on the berries which were left.

These colourful, silvery-twittering birds are always a treat when they flock into the country from their northern European home.  sadly, we don't seem to have any this year.
Later in the month, we had some cold, foggy weather before we went to Lanzarote for our winter break.

The views and weather on the volcanic island of Lanzarote, were quite different form those we left back home.

February saw the appearance of huge drifts of Snowdrops on Shipley Hill.

February also saw the appearance of a lot of the more conventional snowy stuff.

The cold, snow, frost and general bad weather, stayed with us through March, when we would normally expect things to be getting better.  Instead, things just got worse, delaying the onset of Spring and making everyone wonder if it would ever warm up.

 The terrible conditions made for some nice scenery - but the heating bills were not so pretty!

More 2013 nostalgia to follow....