World Of Ice

Freezing Fens And Skies Of Ice


   I woke to a world of ice this morning, a world so cold that my fingers and toes feel like they belong to another, hot tea for warming and woodburner to light were my first jobs of the day. Now the barn is warming with the little chimney puffing out gentle smoke columns that rise up into the ice sky above us passing through tree branches like skeletons of white frost a winter gift like no other.
   A group of six partridge walk over the snow covered winter barley behind us, little round bodies with those orange feet stepping slowly through the thick cold carpet that covers the dark rich soil and great tits visit peanut feeder like small blue darts that flash through the low conifer branches. My robins sit on the feeding table like little feather balls their red chest bright in this winter world and the blackbirds scramble on the tall rose bushes picking hips of bright crimson.
   Now with hands warm I'm heading off to saw wood, I need to keep that little fire dragon fed in the barn, crackling and spitting as it feeds on my collected woodland supplies, that old bead hermit now gets closer as I sit out there in the warm while winter laughs at us all, she loves playing her frosty tricks on us and I guess we would be lost without them.