winter at the allotments..... by jantan

winter at the allotments.....

............ or as my husband would call them the 'loppos' (......don't ask, he's from Yorkshire)

again, this is much better viewed large

another bitterly cold morning. Still recovering from bruised pride (amongst other things!) after slipping over on the way to art class last night.

Graham was leaving home at 5.30am to fly to Rotterdam (no, not Rotherham!) this morning and was a bit worried about freezing fog causing delays and cancellations from Heathrow airport. I was awake very very early as a result of the all too frequent 'Husband's Snoring Induced Insomnia' and decided to have a look at the internet to see what the flight situation was. I found what I assumed was his flight and that it had been cancelled. So, I decided that the best thing would be to wake him (at 4am) and tell him so he had chance to get back to sleep and could have a bit of a lie in, rather than him find out after he had got up. Of course, he told me I had got the wrong flight, and his left on time.... oh well, I did try!

It's days like today that I wish that I was one of those 'girly girls' rather than a buxom wench (all be it a 5'3" one) who is capable of hefting around bales of straw and canisters of water because all of the animals' water was frozen up and the donks have got through so much straw and hay because the grass is frozen, that I had to go and get more from a local farm. Heavy stuff that water.

To add insult to injury - when I was carrying buckets of water to fill up a larger container to take up to the pigs, I bent over to pick up the last one and my (new, and not very cheap) purse fell out of my pocket straight into the freezing cold water!

It's not really been my day, but the wonderful photo opportunities that the haw frost presented more than made up for everything else!
Lovely composition and I'm sorry to hear about your bad day! Glad that you've managed to get your animals through a difficult day - you do such sterling work with them!
December 12th, 2012  
Love the tones in this one. The eye is led brilliantly into the shot by the tracks and the fence, and I really love that sky.
December 12th, 2012  
well you got this shot! love it! :-)
December 12th, 2012  
Well I love this shot - this is what I was wanting!! Bummer with the purse - and tomorrow when I'm cursing the chucks' water feeder thing being frozen solid I'll be at least relieved it's not donkey-sized....
December 12th, 2012  
Love it, yes I think does make up for all the mishaps.
December 12th, 2012  
Love the lines and the sky is beautiful.
December 12th, 2012  
wow - this is a lovely scene Jan, you;'ve captured the frost well, it looks very cold! wouldn't want to be digging the ground now!
December 12th, 2012  
The ground looks so hard and cold! I'm transcribing my Mother's 1929 travel diary as you may know and I'm now typing about the Cotswolds. She says, ". We deviated from the main road just a little to go through Burford, a lovely little village in a hollow, not spoiled by much traffic or a railway. From there, south to connect up with the main road to Fairford, the church of which we wouldn’t have missed for anything! It’s quite a nice little town in itself, narrow, winding streets but the windows in the Church are most remarkable. There is a series of about 20 windows, Flemish and all most wonderfully and richly glazed in perfectly gorgeous colours. We followed them round and just loved them. On further to Cirencester, said to be the Capital of the Cotswolds" Interesting, don't you think?
December 13th, 2012  
She said she stayed at the Fleece Hotel which is still around! She described as a rather 'beery' place!
December 13th, 2012  
gorgeous frostiness!
December 13th, 2012  
Well you still took a fabulous shot. I love the way you say you are a buxom wench!!! I had a good giggle.
December 13th, 2012  
@maggiemae Burford really is a pretty place - quintessential Cotswolds really. I go there every so often because there is a beautiful, but very expensive garden centre on the outskirts. We are on the edge of the Cotswolds but that is the real heart of the area, home to lots of wealthy celebrities and what is known as 'the Chipping Norton Set.'

Cirencester is a Roman town and is over an hour's drive from here and a great place to shop and visit the Roman Museum.

I keep thinking what an unusual site your Mum and her companion must have been travelling around the country unaccompanied in those days - great pioneering spirit!
December 13th, 2012  
@jantan thanks for your thoughts, Jan, I agree with you!
December 13th, 2012  
Great shot Jan, sorry to hear about such a grim day, sounds like the sort of day which doesn't seem half so bad when viewed from the other side of a glass or two of whatever takes your fancy :)
And yes, cack is a fine and useful word!
December 13th, 2012  
Great shot,love the sky!!
December 13th, 2012  
Super shot. I do enjoy commentaries that show us the person behind the camera. I lolled at your buxom wench comment and husband induced snoring, I come from the same tribe as your husband!
December 14th, 2012  
ks
fav..
December 17th, 2012  
amazing photo!
January 3rd, 2013  
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