Snow here today, enough to be a nuisance

Yesterday I was far too smug about the weather, pointing out the lovely sunshine we had enjoyed and comparing this with the snowfalls elsewhere - particularly in the south east. Should have kept quiet because the white stuff has been in evidence here today. Not that it has amounted to much but it is nuisance value one can say making things a little treacherous underfoot. Walked up the hill to the station in the early evening to meet a friend off the train and discovered that it had been bright and sunny in Exeter! It would appear that the showers plaguing my area today were mainly affecting West Devon and East Cornwall. The wind has dropped which is good from the point of view that the snow hasn't drifted; the downside is that today's showers have hung around rather than quickly passing through.

It had been my intention to go to the Wassail at Cotehele this morning but with the bitter cold I have to say that I chickened out. I'm told that there were lots of people there and that they had snow as well. Last year 'The Rubber Band' and friends led the (musical) procession up to the orchard but I can't imagine their instruments being happy about being in the snow so I don't know how they managed today. Wassails traditionally I think take place early in the new year - I suspect that the timing of this one has something to do with the National Trust's commercial considerations. Christmas is an important time for them at Cotehele because the main hall in the house is open so that people can go in and see the magnificent garland of dried flowers that is hung there every year and of course participants in the Wassail just might make some Christmas purchases in the Trust's shop!

I am wondering now if this winter will be like the last one, rather colder than the mild damp ones that have become the norm in recent years. I said in a recent post that I am undecided over the question of man made climate change but if this winter is cold overall and we have another summer lacking in sizzling temperatures then whatever government is in power will have one heck of a job convincing the population that 'global warming' is here. The sceptics will be very much in the ascendant.

Daffodils out at Cotehele

Although I ignore the festivities of New Year's Eve it is a bit special somehow to go for a walk on New Year's Day. A quick note here about fireworks: there seemed to have been fewer let off in the village this year and by a quarter past midnight silence again reigned supreme, or at least I didn't hear any further unrequested noise! As usual on the TV news they showed the huge displays in Sydney, London and Edinburgh. Regarding the last mentioned venue I have a feeling the show had to be cancelled there last time because of potential high winds, no problem this year with the anticyclonic weather that's persisting although I imagine it was quite cold.

So to New Year's Day. Equipped with flask and picnics we set out on an easy much loved walk to Cotehele. One of the great plus points about the Tamar Valley is that one can arrange routes away from the hurly-burly of heavy traffic. In fact for us traffic is a massive quality of life issue. This particular walk through quiet lanes and on country paths feels like a throwback to an earlier less hurried time and is always a pleasure. Arriving at Cotehele we had a quick look to see if any snowdrops were in flower. Not yet. However we were more than compensated by the sight of a forsythia fully out (!) and what my more knowledgeable friend told me was a witch hazel tree. However the real icing on the cake was seeing a clump of daffodils in flower! All very good to see.

The Tamar Valley is extremely variable in climate and where we live is in a frost hollow. We normally expect the gardens at Cotehele to be ahead of us but even so the daffodils came as something of a pleasant shock.

As to be expected we came across quite a lot of winter heliotrope during the course of our ramble. I've seen it out for some time actually - I'm pretty sure that it is an introduced species, it is quite vigorous and where it gets a hold seems to swamp everything else. In all honesty I never think of it as the most beautiful plant on the planet but welcome the sight of its flowers nevertheless as an indicator of the seasons moving along.

There had been several days here with really bright sun but New Years Day wasn't one of them. However the weather was quiet and dry so one shouldn't complain. A friend nearby told me this morning that it was cold on Dartmoor where she walked yesterday, I can very well believe that. Another big positive of our walk to Cotehele was the fact that my friend brought some of her homemade carrot cake. Yum yum! And we also met up with a couple we hardly knew who hospitably invited us into their home for a cup of tea!

A day of simple but rewarding pleasures.