Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns

Well, we’ve moaned and groaned the last few weeks, about all this rain during an official doubt, the cold and whatever else we saw fit to dredge up, but this is the moment we have all be waiting for… Wonderful warm May sunshine. The flowers in the garden have sprung up and bloomed, the weeds have flourished twice as fast, and I already have seen some bolted rhubarb. It has been hot and John took out his camera this afternoon to take the quickest of quick videos panning across the barns, just for the fun of it, to remind us how lovely it’s been. Unfortunately we may have to add this tomorrow as YouTube and we are having a little case of crossed wires and misunderstandings.

Here is our first iris, and Boots asleep under the clematis on her own little nest. No chance of rest for the great tits, who have worked tirelessly to feed their young; constant, on demand feeding is what their chicks obviously believe in. Then we went for a stroll down to the village pond, to see whether the swallows were congregating there but even they seemed soporific. Poppy and her calf (whose name I forget, except it begins with P- Pansy, Petal, Petunia…?) were contentedly munching on the lush grass. We did see a duck, flying speedily across the scene, but that was about it

Warm Weather Prognosis from Tom’s & Douglas’s Barns

What is the secret? You’ll have to wait and see how effective it turns out to be…

The icy conditions persist. We have had no snow recently, and none the night before last in spite of warnings and dire predictions of what was to befall. However, the old snow is still with us. Each day it starts to thaw slowly, then each night freezes hard again so conditions underfoot tend to be perilous and the drive not much better but everyone seems to be getting in and out so it’s obviously not that awful.

John and i have not exactly been skipping abut on the snow (unlike the lovely Springer Tweed whose photos we shared on Facebook) the other day but we are certainly teetering out a little more confidently, all thanks to some very effective Ice and Snow Grippers that daughter Ruthie gave us both for Christmas. There are various types around but these are the best we’ve seen, metal studs fitted onto a rubberised thing that slips over your boot or shoe (and very easy to put on and take off).

So impressed with how effective they are we have today ordered a couple of pairs for each barn so that our guests will be able to use them while they were here. And we’ve also bought some traction treads to put under any car or delivery van that gets stuck round us as I did the other day in the doctors’ surgery. To digress for the moment I would like to add a public thanks to Peter R and his granddaughter, Amy, who pushed me out of the frozen mounds of snow I was caught in on the surgery car park. Without them I might be there still.

So now we await the arrival of our snow aids. I’m not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed if it means that as soon as they arrive we find absolutely no need for them at all.

Snowy Update from Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns

Tweed, dancing for joy in the snow!

Just a quick post after a day of snow. Last winter the snow came with a vengeance at the end of November; this year we have had to wait until early February so it seems more exciting – there isn’t that slight niggling worry that it might be going to last for four months or so, and it has come at the weekend so the children and actually many adults could toboggan and not too many souls were worrying about getting to work.

Sadly our Douglas’s Barn’s  guests had decided, very wisely as it turns out, to leave yesterday after they had seen the snow forecasts as they had commitments on Monday that they could not risk missing.

People are getting in and out of the village but without a heavy duty 4×4 it would be wiser to stay safely put!

A Fantastic Midweek Opportunity

The first real snow of this winter

It will be lovely…Think toboggans, walks in the  snow.
It is snowing, hard. Douglas’s Barn, warm and welcoming, awaits you, IF you can pass the test…

Can you resist a challenge? The snow is falling fast, now but  – how long will it last – it may be gone tomorrow, or it may not? And even if it does stop snowing, which we gather is likely, no doubt the roads will still be icy.

If you score 5/5 in the test above you deserve a treat and we are prepared to make you a fairly ludicrous offer, financially speaking. Give us a ring on 01335 390519…

Water, Water, Everywhere? Or Just for Elephants?

I was amused to see that the next film to be shown at the Parwich cinema (otherwise known as the Memorial Hall) is ‘Water for Elephants’.  There are not too many elephants round here, and not too much water at the moment either. When did it last rain?

It can’t be that long ago, but it can’t have been up to much either (must consult the weather gurus on Parwich blog). Overall, we must have had rather little recently. These photos will bear me out.

The first one is of my  brother-in-law and Aileen his wife, on the stepping stones at Dovedale. Admittedly they all have their new topknot now, but still – look how proud they stand out of the water! We happily crossed from one side to the other with no risk of slipping because they were so dry and the Dove so invitingly shallow had we missed our footing.

I don’t remember ever seeing so relatively little water at Carsington, either. I took some photos as I passed today  and here is one – not very good (taken with my phone) but which I hope give an indication of the low level. Then I stopped at the ‘splash’, the ford on the way to Tissington. It was looking as attractive as ever, but the water lower than I ever remember seeing it. There may be a reasonably long stretch of wet, but – especially if you click on the photos to enlarge it – you can see that it is only a couple of inches deep. (It can be well over a foot deep and not quite so mirror-like and still!)

Next time we are tempted to complain about the rain, we must remember this.

Has SprIng Sprung at Orchard Farm?

Probably not, but it certainly felt like it today.

We have enjoyed the most perfect spring day, with sunshine, blue skies and warmth… The birds have sung their hearts out including this little robin John snapped in the garden this afternoon.

The birds were all singing, the woodpecker tapping and the pheasants screeching; our lanes were bustling with village folk going out for walks together, people one has hardly seen for months as we have all skulked indoors trying to keep warm for what seems like a long time – it is three months since the big freeze up started (on 27th November).

But before I get too carried away, rain is forecast again for tomorrow afternoon, and if truth be told, it snowed last Monday morning so we are not quite out of the winter wood yet.  Our guests in Tom’s Barn who have been here a week (on their sixth visit) were saying that they felt they had ‘enjoyed’ all weathers in that time – snow, sleet, rain, fog, mist and now warm sunshine. No wonder we always have the weather to talk about!

John and I enjoyed strolling round the garden this afternoon, enjoying the snowdrops, the daffodil bulbs and tulip leaves, and inspecting anxiously to see how much damage the snow and cold actually had wrought and which we fear is quite considerable but it was by no means total devastation. The magnolia looks fine and many trees and shrubs which have been badly affected do appear still to have some signs of life in them. The ceanothus in front of the house which has been such a joy is a mass of dead brown leaves, but there is new green growth at the top so we’ll have to wait and see.

And here is Boots lying in the sun, also enjoying today’s sunshine.

Soothing Mists over Hartington

A warm (warmer, it’s all relative) day so hardly any snow or visible ice about on the roads and paths, although in deep puddles there  still can lurk a layer of ice providing a slippery trap for the unwary.

John and I and another group of friends went today to Hartington where most of us embarked on a delightful two-hour walk ending in a very pleasant and convivial lunch at the Devonshire Arms (in Hartington, not Beeley!).

Of course because of all the sudden warm(er) weather there  is a lot of mist about in the valleys, lingering all day in some places. John managed to capture some rather evocative misty views looking down over Hartington from the hills above.

These are the grey/green/blue misty colours I find so attractive and which we tried to reflect in Douglas’s Barn, wanting to create a calm, peaceful and relaxing atmosphere.

If you’d like to see a few more John took today (all variations on a theme) they are in the Photo Gallery, under Here and There. Double click on a photo then you should be able to see each in turn, slightly enlarged.

A White Christmas for Tom’s and Douglas’s Barns?

It looks highly likely the snow will stay.

Both lots of Christmas guests have arrived safely, and managed to get their cars up the final slope. The barns are warm and snug as usual, and feeling very Christmassy especially with the snow outside (although there’s a paltry amount compared to what we had nearly a month ago!). John tried to capture  an idea of what snow there is in this image on the right – if you double click on the image you get a better idea of how nice it all looks.

We managed to find two small – but almost perfectly formed – Christmas trees and with a bit of holly and poinsettia not to forget the usual lilies and a plate full of Orchard Farm’s unique Christmas Bakewell and mince pies both barns look quite inviting and jolly – it would be tempting to book ourselves in but both barns are already booked for Christmas next year so we’ve clearly missed the boat there…

We brought home yesterday a new LED, HD Ready and goodness knows what else white flat screen TV for upstairs in Douglas’s Barn, pleased to update things as usual but even more pleased to beat the VAT increase in the New Year.

Now all we have to do is wrap presents and wait for Ruthie and Nick to arrive, separately, from London. Sara and her family meanwhile are enjoying the summer sunshine in Australia so no white Christmas for them.

…Sledges, snow shovels, road salt and mince pies

Today we bought two new plastic sledges for the use of our guests and/or rather less excitingly for pulling luggage up to the house if that becomes necessary again. Determined not to be caught out next time round we also purchased a new snow shovel – our last one is now in London having been urged upon son Nick when he left here in heavy snow over a fortnight ago – and some road salt. This comes in fairly minutes 20kg bags – heavy to carry, expensive to buy and somewhat ineffective on the snow and ice – but considerably better than nothing!

We’ve also ordered some mince pies from Riverford Organic just in case the Aga and I can’t keep up with the demand, and one or two new Christmassy candles and decoration etc for the barns.

But more importantly,  we need a weather update, particularly for those of you planning to arrive here on Friday…

It has been much warmer, and drizzly and wet the last two days. There is very little snow about, apart from heaps at the side of the road in some places, and pockets of white on the hillsides where the snow has settled in the dips and furrows or banked up under stone walls.

We seem to be hearing a little less of the dramatic talk of an ‘Arctic blast’ bringing heavy snow that was being loudly proclaimed  last week. There is talk now of rain turning to sleet and possibly snow on Thursday but we haven’t had any general weather warnings (or that we’ve heard, anyway). If you are at all concerned, keep looking at the BBC weather for Ashbourne.

Parwich has NO snow!

The snow has pretty well all disappeared! We have been away for a few days for a family wedding in London, and in spite of genuine determination to write posts from the big city itself our time was so happily busy – more of which later – we never got anywhere near a computer.

Anyway, to update everyone on the weather situation: we left on Thursday afternoon, taking the car very gingerly down the lane for the first time since 27th November…! There was still a lot of snow and ice about, and it felt extremely cold. We parked the car on an ice-covered surface at Derby station (which incidentally almost cost more than our fares down and back) hoping things wouldn’t have frozen up completely by the time we returned.

We returned on Sunday evening to find no snow, no ice and the temperature  a relatively warm 5’C or so. However, before any of us start feeling too confident, apparently there is talk of another cold snap – a so-called  ‘Arctic blast’ – with bitterly cold weather and maybe more snow. Keep an eye on the BBC Ashbourne weather.