I expect it will have disappeared by the time I finish writing this sentence but at least I have a record of the day we had snow.Every year, I watch and wait for the snowdrops to flower. I have clumps of several varieties but I haven't yet seen them because some nocturnal visitors nibble them before I get there. I usually find the remnants of the chewed leaves. But yesterday I got to one tiny clump before the little munchers. Here are the sole survivors of this year's crop....
..... and here are a few words from William Wordsworth .......To a Snowdrop
Lone Flower, hemmed in with snows and white as they
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!
But hardier far, once more I see thee bend
Thy forehead, as if fearful to offend,
Like an unbidden guest. Though day by day,
Storms, sallying from the mountain-tops, waylay
The rising sun, and on the plains descend;
Yet art thou welcome, welcome as a friend
Whose zeal outruns his promise! Blue-eyed May
Shall soon behold this border thickly set
With bright jonquils, their odours lavishing
On the soft west-wind and his frolic peers;
Nor will I then thy modest grace forget,
Chaste Snowdrop, venturous harbinger of Spring,
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!
Please excuse me now, I need to go out to play in the snow; tomorrow it will be just a memory.
Just back from Devon - just missed the snow (but not the snowdrops). Now snow aplenty here in Bristol.
ReplyDeleteAliB
I don't suppose Bristol normally sees much snow, either, Ali. I'm glad you got home before the SW grinds to a halt.
ReplyDeleteSnow and snowdrops! I don't think one can get much luckier, do you?!
ReplyDeleteNan
ReplyDeleteSince writing the post more snow has fallen and more is forecast for tonight. We haven't seen anything like this in the 20 years we have lived here. Beautiful! But, of course, we are not equipped to deal with it so we will all be staying at home until it clears. You must find it amusing.
We've had rather a lot of snow up on this mid-Devon hillside, M, and it's snowing as I write this! First snowdrops spotted at the end of last week and there have been primroses since December . . .
ReplyDeleteYou have more varied weather than here on the coast, D. We sometimes envy you but never when you have rain! I haven't spotted any primroses yet and the nocturnal visitors got the snowdrops last night.
ReplyDeleteDown here in Tiverton we've had about 2 inches. I think North Devon has probably had more as it appeared on the national news at lunchtime. We've had several heavy snow showers this morning but inbetween the sun is shining and what we've had is now quickly melting. They're predicting a lull tomorrow before more snow on Thursday. Quite a winter we're having!
ReplyDeleteCath, we had a lot of snow this morning and all the schools were closed. The roads cleared in the afternoon sunshine but there is still a lot of snow in the gardens and on rooftops. It really is exceptional weather for us, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI blame global warming.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Harry, and that is caused by my Aga!
ReplyDeleteSee, I don't even know what your Aga is, as the former cousins drift further and further apart.
ReplyDeleteI thought what we called a stove, you called a cooker.
Harry, most Brits have cookers and stoves but some of us have a Swedish, cast iron affair called an Aga. Environmentalists of the extreme variety are always blaming Aga owners for the melting ice caps. You can see my views and a picture of the offending stove here
ReplyDelete