I have a commitment to try to avoid repeating myself on this blog: but of all the views that have appeared more than once, this one, the one looking west from my house, has been the most often repeated. And for good reason. It has saved many an otherwise drab day.
And yes, we do already have snow, have had for three days in fact. After the whole year has seemed to be running late climatically — winter has hit early, and quite hard.
The first snow comes to Hebden Bridge only 194 days, or 6 months and 10 days, after the last snow (29th April).
Winter is coming… In more ways than one, I fear.
Today was Joe’s bithrday. Amazingly, I seem to as of today be the parent of a teenager. Yet it was a win-win situation for him, because almost the first thing that happened today was that we got the phone call telling us it was a snow day, thus a day off school. But he didn’t lie around doing nothing — I took him into Manchester instead, where it was just as revoltingly snowy.
Well… there’s blossom. You can see it. But that’s the bloody British weather for you. The snow was all gone by lunchtime.
Still, I am not complaining about this photographically. This is the first picture I’ve taken in ages that I really like: one where I knew as soon as I pressed the shutter that it would be today’s pick.
After the weather conditions depicted on the last couple of days, getting gradually closer to home, I guess it’s no real surprise that today saw snow on the ground in Hebden Bridge. I like this shot because it’s essentially monochrome, except for that stripe of red in the corner — a plastic barrier put up to stop people falling off the upper path and down into the water race here. Not far off this picture here, but not the same, which is why sometimes you can get away with doing multiple shots of the same place.
David Stockdale, Brighton & Hove Albion’s goalkeeper, ponders today why he has a job that requires him to work outside on a day like this. But then again he’s quite handsomely paid for it. And, at least at one level, earned his money today, keeping a clean sheet as the Albion won 1-0 in the Blackburn snow. Snow has definitely been a key theme of this weekend.
I remain grateful for the fact that I have a job flexible enough to allow me to bring my weekend forward a day and get out on a walk on a Friday. However, I wasn’t out basking in the sunshine or anything. This was a severe-weather walk, as rough as anything I’ve ever done, as evidenced by the spindrift seen here. Heron Pike sits between the lakes of Grasmere, Rydal Water and (pictured) Windermere. More photos from this walk on my other blog when I get round to it, but that’ll be tomorrow now.
“OK, I might have a bit of a silly tail. But I live in a cooler place than you.”
And yes, that’s snow in May.
March. That’s spring, right? Isn’t it? Not here, not this year, not a bit of it.
Being 42 