Frost, snow, ... and wind.

28th February 2018 (Wednesday) .... 08.30     Oh my word .... we have a

Ferry Road.

blanket of snow over the East Neuk this morning .... and it ain’t a warm blanket.        We have heavy, squally showers, (I got caught in one on the beach), and the wind is causing, what we would call, “blin drift” in the auld days... “whiteout” nowadays.     The snow blowing off the golf course is already causing small drifts on Ferry Road.... so we don’t want a long spell of snow.    The wind (from the East/Northeast) is F3 – 4 so the temperature, which is below freezing (-2 in Ivy garden) .... add wind chill to that, and... yep ...  it’s cauld.

Snow squall over the Ferry beach.

The main roads will be clear .... getting from ‘The Royal Burgh’ to the main road is  tricky!

12.00       I walked along to Elie, via the golf course and the beach, and I can definitely tell you that it is ‘cold out’.... and especially so on the beach:  but I did get some nice photographs.    I can also tell you that it is cosy in Harbour House, where I went for coffee.    Myra, Elizabeth, Barbara and Jim all appeared and we had an enjoyable hour, and a bit, chatting.... and drinking coffee/tea.     Jim gave me a run home.   

The roads are a mess of slush and snow;  this will freeze tonight so the roads will be very tricky tomorrow.    Oh .... the Colinsburgh Lite lunch has been cancelled due to the weather.      

Tomorrow we have Jimmy Mackie’s funeral service in Elie Kirk, at 13.00.    Jimmy was

Elie harbour beach.

a Ferry man, one of the old Ferry families, like the Webster’s (Maggie’s family).    Like Maggie, Jimmy was an ardent Ferry person... and did not agree with ‘wrongs’, such as the Kincraig Chainwalk becoming the Elie Chainwalk. 

 16.30    A strange happened when I was feeding Blob first thing this morning.     With snow being on the ground, the digestive biscuit crumbs (Blob is partial to digestive biscuits) settled into the snow.    Blob didn’t go for the crumbs, instead he kept coming closer to me;   I wondered what he was doing.     He then jumped/flew onto my shoe and began to pick up the crumbs that had landed on my shoes.    This must be the first time that this Blob has met up with snow!       I now flatten the snow before crumbling the biscuit.     My next job is making a new bird table .... the old one is falling to bits.    He was also the

Kincraig cliffs.

first to find that the water dish didn’t have ice on it.... after I’d filled it with warm water.

There’s a red warning in place for Fife, and the Central Belt of Scotland;   for more snow, which, combined with the strong wind, and falling temperature, could lead to trouble.      The Emergency Ration tin is full, and so is the freezer, so I’m ready for anything.    Of course we might not get the worst of the expected bad weather:  or is that just wishful thinking?   It is snowing as I type.

When I went out for another walk after lunch, the wind had risen to somewhere around F6 – 7, making walking uncomfortable.    I managed to go up the Ferry High Street then round the Chapel.    Going out wasn’t bad, but walking into the wind, on the way home, was hard ....and cold on the nose.    I may have one more trip out...  to the beach;  before battening the hatches.

There is/was a Fieldfare in the garden about 5 minutes ago;   this is a sure sign of harsh weather.... I can’t remember the last time I saw one;  certainly a few winters ago.

Glovers Wynd ... aka, fondly, as  'Toblerone Row'.

winters ago.

20.00    Walking on sand covered snow is how I imagine walking on marshmallow would be.... it looks like you’re stepping onto the relative solidity of sand, but all of a sudden you sink a couple of inches into snow.    I like it.    Better then jumpin’ in puddles even!

I suppose we don’t now what we’ll find when we wake up tomorrow morning:  by all accounts more snow, and, with the strong wind .... drifting snow.    We have Jimmy’s funeral tomorrow, with the interment at Kinneuchar;   I hope the worst of the weather is well past by then.    Actually the air felt 'different' when I was down on the beach at sunset time .... almost damp,... like we could get rain.    Wishful thinking most likely.