December '09

Weather This Month

Max Temp = 10.4 °C                 Min Temp =  -7.5°C

Max Wind = 32.6 mph              Max Rain in 24 hr Period = 16 mm

Max Rain in 1 hr Period = 5.1 mm          Total Rain For Month = 82.3 mm

Live Local Weather HERE

Diary

25th.  The snow is still with us as most of the country celebrate Christams and for a few lucky ones the snow has fallen today making it an official "white Christmas", the first for five years. I took a quick snapshot from the office window overlooking the garden and surrounding area and it simply is beautiful.

22nd.  A short entry in the diary just to note another low temp in the garden with a drop to -7.5. The birds are still regulars as the snowfall continues on and off all day today. Thanks to all who have emailed and called about my recent "Only when I laugh" ordeal. I remain positive about things although the holiday to India is looking more and more unlikely at the moment....I hope we can make it as I have a date over Christmas for a small operation in place. I hope this goes well and the wait for results will be short.

20th.  Wow the weather has followed the path of many places in the UK of late and this morning has left us with a good 60mm of snow and a new recorded low temp in the garden. The low was recorded at 06:54 this morning with a very chilly -7.4ºC achieved The birds have responded to this with many species all zipping about the feeders as they try to combat any dwindling fat reserves they have expended through the bitterly cold night. I say night but in effect the cold is still a problem as as I write this at 10:38 the temp is still well below zero at -4.5ºC. I mentioned to Mandy yesterday that we were due a Song Thrush...and this morning she obliged with a quick pitstop of sultanas. A very christmassy scene is set in the garden with the snow providing a lovely backdrop to the many species feeding here. I hope that the cold temps and snow covering have had you thinking about putting out a little food? I am sure it has.

My visits to hospital are ongoing and I have been coming to terms with a possible long term lay off from work....something that I have never contemplated before and to be honest scares the living daylights out of me. I have had several tests and a CT scan and shortly a visit to a consultant to talk about any findings. It's strange since I pray every year for snow yet now I am praying for it not to be here as it may stop any important hospital appointments. Fingers crossed.

6th.  Long gaps in the diary at the moment seem to be the norm as I seem to be spending more time in a doctors surgery for one reason or another. I have finally got an appointment for the ENT hospital which I hope will stop any health fears one way or the other.

The garden is as usual active with plenty of wildlife in evidence with the Woodpecker a regular at the suet cakes. Up to 6 Jays are still taking an enormous amount of peanuts away and these have been joined by 3 troublesome Feral Pigeons which I discourage as much as possible. We also have 3 Grey Squirrels making the most of the nut bonanza as they have begun hiding peanuts all over the area. A small group of Long tailed Tits are now visiting the garden throughout the day which is always both a treat and a reminder that winter is not far away. Talking of the weather, as usual it is damp and grey and although a blip in the temps early in the month it has been quite mild as again yesterday the temps reached double figures at over 10 degrees.

We are now on our 8 mouse capture in the house as the live capture trap with peanut butter seems a good combination. I am still unsure as to whether the peanut butter is drawing them in from outside! It seems a common problem at the moment as sales of traps, poisons and electrical gadgets have increased significantly of late.....is this due to the recent rise in the water table or I wonder if they know we have a cold winter in store? We are hoping to miss out on any cold this year as our thoughts are slowly turning to our much anticipated holiday to India. The Christmas break will be a good chance to renew myself with the birds we hope to encounter and also a chance to finish a few jobs that the poor weather has not allowed me to get on with. The replacing of the fencing of the front garden is top of the list as the constant rain and short days have not allowed me to complete the task. I have noticed that the long range forecast is possibly favorable to a dry spell in the next few weeks so I hope this will be the case.