Winter
Until a week or so ago it was still autumn.Wet and not too cold. 
But this week, winter has arrived with a vengence. Last night was the coldest in nearly 30 years and when I went to the shops this morning it was -16 degrees C (and the local tour club sensibly cancelled the last winter tour). However, in the afternoon it had warmed up to 'only' - 5, and the sun was shining. Out in the woods it was spectacular with fresh snow, blue skies and sunshine. The only problem was the cold. No ice in the woods. And we saw lots of footprints of rabbits and deer, which was nice. There was only one disadvantage. We got back to learn that we had just missed the spectacle of a sparrowhawk devouring a sparrow in our back garden. The cold weather has meant that the birds have been flocking to our feeders, and on this occasion the bird of prey was apparently also hungry enough to venture into the suburbs.
