Cold as Ice

While you Kiwis and Australians have been sweltering in the heat (especially Auckland, with a heatwave of at least 20 degrees...) you might be pleased to know that we have been shivering in our shoes, literally. We do feel sorry for the Melbournites who are currently struggling with temperatures into the 40s and are having to deal with bush fires and destruction of property.

Last week on Thursday the snow started coming in and is still here. The last few nights have been bitterly cold at -8 or -10, with last night being our coldest since we arrived here, at -12 celcius. The sharp air cuts through your lungs and seems to bite hard. The ice wave of UK finally made its way down to south of France and caught us up in its grip.

street in the village

chemin du relais towards reservealong the Southe oaks retain their colour in the reserve

We have both been knocked out with the flu or a cold or something in between - lots of sniffling and not being able to breathe properly, hacking coughs, headaches and just feeling lousy. But, Wouter is a few days ahead of me and is well on the way to recovery. I am feeling much better too, so it's all good.

During the snowy weather we also got some sun, so Wouter took the opportunity to go out and take some photos. You can't tell from some pictures, but the snow was around a meter deep in places. According to Wouter he had to shake out his boots several times. As the snow starts to melt, icicles are formed and today we saw some which were at least a meter long. If snow has been compressed on the ground, walking can be dangerous if the compressed snow has turned icy so it's best to walk in softer snow.

view from the front window

snow drift on east of property

hope the broad beans make it through....

I think this looks like woolly mammoths climbing our hedge (we just saw Ice Age...)
and the tobacco plants look rather glum under the snow

Cassy has enjoyed the one walk I've made with him in four days (due to flu) - there were so many new smells to sniff out - he was almost in heaven. Although he later showed his true labrador traits when I felt sorry for some birds who could not find food, so made a melange of rolled oats, pumpkin seeds and breadcrumbs and bacon fat. Cassy made sure the birds didn't get a taste for this new cuisine as he found every single crumb. But he paid the price by having sore gums later on - having spent a lot of time with his snout in the icy snow.

The forecast for tomorrow is for up to +12 degrees so no doubt it will feel absolutely tropical!