Thursday 17 December 2015

Once Upon A Time ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ Once Upon A Long, Long Time Ago in a quaint and curious village nestling by the ocean deep and blue, once there came and once there was a miracle called Snow ~~~

The narrow roads of this bucolic village by the sea were lined with rows of quaint and quiet cottages; chapels, churches and farmsteads dotted and spotted the highways and byways; pretty, high~hedgerow flowered lanes ran hither and thither; and ancient ruins lie among the green and fertile fields; while salmon leapt in the rivers and lobsters swam wild in the sea. Where the great Atlantic Ocean and wide white sandy beaches stretched out along the feet of high cliff tops and sheep and cattle safely graze, the village sat gazing yonder to the west, over the big, blue ocean in all its moods of quiet peaceful calm and wildest fury thunder.

Then, one day, the sleepy, gentle village folk awoke from their night time slumber to see the green and pleasant land they knew so well quite strangely changed, dusted all in white, as if some giant hand above had shaken finest icing sugar all across the fields and furrows, the hills and valleys, and all that lay therein and round about.  All was white and muted and all glistened with a fine crystal dusting of snow ~~~

White flakes of snow fell slowly, steadily, silently, sifting and drifting down from the grey cloud brim full sky overhead and soon the dusting grew thicker and thicker; settled the snow all around on the ground until all was a blanket of white.

Children, woken early by the softly strange new light that only comes from snow, flew from their cosy and warm beds in eager anticipation of adventures ahead. Bowls full of hot, creamy porridge were devoured as fast as they could; feet wrapped in thick warm socks were pushed quick as a wink into waiting Wellington boots; woolly scarves, hats and mittens that had waited so patiently all the year long on the hat stand in the hall were donned; front doors flew open wide; muffled and bundled children, barely able to walk from the layers of clothes, poured forth into the slippery, snow covered streets eager to form battle lines ready for games of snowball fights, or to build snowmen, and even take a tin tray, or sled if you were lucky enough to own one, to the nearby hill to spend the morning sliding up and down, down and up, until it was time for lunch when homeward bound they trouped ready for a bowl of warming soup ~~~ Round Two to follow in the afternoon!

And all the while, the white flakes fell and drifted ~~~

So, Gentle Reader ~~~ As I sit in my living room looking out at an unseasonably warm mid December scene with murky grey sky and rain, I am reminiscing of a day, now five years past when we had our last decent snowfall ~~~ I long for snow; I live for snow; I am in love with snow; my heart cries out for snow; when I lived in Iceland we had plenty of snow from October through to March and even longer. I was one very happy snow bunny. Since I have returned to the west of the United Kingdom, we have only had snow once on our tiny peninsula that juts out into the Gulf Stream and this is why we seldom have snow that hangs around for more than a few hours. Overnight is a rare thing, but to have snow for more than a few days is very rare indeed.

The last time this very rare event happened was on December 21st 2010 and, of course, I went out with my camera. The light is magical when there is snow; the familiar becomes strange and all looks alien.  There is much fun to be had capturing the snow in images, as much if not more fun than when I was a child. I know I've shared these before, but begging your pardon I am sharing them again. After all, they instil much happiness as I dream of a White Christmas once more ~~~ it is unseasonably warm, and even in mid December the heating is off for most of the day. A rare thing indeed.

A Snow Angel




A typical Pembrokeshire tree transformed with snow






Dramatic clouds looking as mountains, stand behind the nearby outcrop




The furrows left by the plough in Autumn make a lovely pattern across the field

Miniature Alpine scene ~ just a few inches high ~ the sun setting in the west






A frozen gorse bud melting in the sun makes a magical ornament

The snow lasted for days and days ~~~ well over Christmas and into the New Year. It was a real treat for someone like me who loves snow so much.

Until next time

Sincerely yours
Deborah xoxo




23 comments:

  1. It is glorious isn't it? I'm hoping for snow too (although would settle for a string of decent frosts right now). Lovely pics. CT :o)

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    1. Yes, we definitely need a good, hard frost to put the gardens to rights after several years of above average temperatures and so much rain.

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  2. Dearest Deb, this post is just beautiful. You know you are quite the writer, my dear. I was transported to the days when I was a child --your excitement and longing for the snow reminds me of days long ago. Your photography is just AMAZING! So clear and gorgeous!!! Nothing beats the light that comes after a beautiful snowfall! You have really captured a very special day in your words and your photography!! Thank you for such a treat on this gloomy rainy day! xoxo ♥

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    1. Why, thank you Martha Ellen. I did so enjoy putting this together, but enjoyed traipsing about in the snow so many years ago even more! Snow does give the most marvellous quality of light to work with. xoxo

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  3. You certainly do write well,those pictures are stunning, you live in such a beautiful place, are you able to tell us a bit more about where you live some time? x

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    1. Thank you. Yes, I am very fortunate to live where I do. One day, I will be telling more about where I live. xo

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  4. Lovely, lovely photos and descriptions too. In the 23 years here we've had hardly any snow and I too would love some although last time we discovered we are now on a road to be cleared due to being used by the dial a ride old peoples buses so it soon turned into a mucky mess.

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    1. That's the downside with snow. Once people start moving about on it, it turns properly messy and dangerous. My drive was a foot or more deep for days until the people who share the drive arrived and mushed it up. The road by us is not 'main' enough for clearing! It gets dangerous.

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  5. You do have a brilliant eye for story telling in picture and word. Looking out our living room window, rainy, cold, windy, but still the hummingbirds are challenging each other at the feeder! There are almost 100 inches of snow blanketing Mt. Baker up the valley, looks like a huge bowl of ice cream. Even the foothills in front are getting their share of the snow, but here just rain. Your photos are worthy of exhibition in a gallery! Thank you for sharing them with us.

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    1. Thank you for your kind words. I love your 'bowl of ice cream'! Today our weather is the same unseasonally warm and windy with lots of rain.

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  6. Winter and Christmastime as it should look like.

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    1. I was thinking of you as I was writing and posting the photos. It's going to be a warm, not white, Christmas it seems. Oh, well ~~~ we can dream!

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  7. Oh, Deb! What a wonderful tale of that most special of days! Your writing draws us in and leaves us wanting more, more, more! I can just feel your passion for snow in your well-chosen words. Your snowy images are just breathtaking! My wish for you is gentle snowflakes falling upon your village, turning the Shire into a magical place once more! ♡

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    1. Thank you. Our forecast is for warm, windy, and wet so I shall pull the curtains tight and put White Christmas in the dvd player. xo

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  8. Some fantastic photos, Deborah. Those clouds certainly are dramatic. That last photo, at first, looked like an ornament hanging on the tree.

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    1. Thank you. Yes, the clouds were amazing that early Winter Solstice morn. {actually, it completely ruined the full moon solstice total eclipse} Moments either way and I would have missed that gorse bloom completely. Nature's ornaments!

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  9. Some beautiful photos with snow where I prefer it - in a photo although last year was quite good - no snow for us at home but some in a nearby deer park. It is located higher and so we have some wonderful photo opportunities and a trudge in the snow and them returned home to clear roads,

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    1. I love snow. Can't get enough but obviously I live in the wrong place. I would love to see your deer park in the snow, especially if there are deer in it!

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    2. There were lots of deer. For a few days between Christmas and the New Year visitors can get up close and personal during feeding time. See my post on Wednesdsay.

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  10. Donna ~ The Cottage Magpie20 December 2015 at 02:24

    Oh, my! These pics are beautiful!!! Your chances of getting snow are much better than mine, dear friend. Expecting high's in the 70's for Christmas Day. Thank you for sharing your beautiful words and photos with us!! Hugs from me across the sea ~ Donna (The Cottage Magpie)

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    1. No snow for us. Still way too warm and the forecast for Christmas Eve and Day is wildy wet and windy again. Santa better watch his sleigh isn't blown off course! Deb xoxo

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  11. Your photos are awesome, beautiful, spectacular, breathtaking! I want to be in them. Your writing does leave us wanting more...so write more. lol

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    1. Thank you Dear Friend. I wish you could come and be in them too. Deb xoxo

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