Total Pageviews

Sunday 27 January 2013

27th January, 2013...the snow has gone from Furness Abbey!

Twelve noon, 7 degrees Celsius and not a flake of snow left...just a few abandoned sledges!

It's quite a bright and breezy day actually, with a few snippets of blue sky amongst the more purple colours!


It did rain heavily last night, so once again (along with the snow melt), the Red River is up, and it's very muddy down here. We didn't stay long today actually, because Frankie took a tumble in the mud, and got into a bit of a sulk with himself! All I could think of was getting his coat washed and dried in time for school tomorrow!
We managed to get a few nice bird shots, and we are keeping a close eye on that one daffodil that seems ready to open at any minute!!


It's not the same robin each time!! Wherever we go, another one appears, they are very territorial, and come over to see who is on their patch!

Oh well!! A quiet week at work I hope, after all the snow panic of last week!

Saturday 26 January 2013

26th January, 2013

Snowy, but a mild 7 degrees celsius, so we headed off to the Abbey for some fun in the snow, along with many other Barrovians!



There was plenty of sledging....but also some snowboarding!

The Abbey buildings look very picturesque with a slight dusting of snow, as though someone has painted white highlights along its edges.
It was too busy down here to see much birdlife, but we did catch sight of this small flock of geese...don't know what type or where they might be heading?

Abbey Mill was seeing a lot of action because of all the sledging, and we couldn't resist a hot drink and a bowl of chips!
The snow hasn't dampened the first signs of spring that we are monitoring down here, but as I am writing this at 5.35pm, it is pouring with rain and the snow has pretty much gone!


The A590 might have been snarled up last night, but there doesn't seem to have been any problems with the local trains!

Tuesday 22 January 2013

22nd January 2013


Hooray! At last,some decent snow photos! The intrepid Steve Hillman hit the Abbey at 8.30am this morning to get these!
  
This one is perfect for our next year's Christmas card!

Too early for Abbey Mill to be open, or I'm sure bacon buns would have been the order of the day!
 Looks like one brave daffodil is ready to open!



Wow! A bit of snow doesn't half transform the place! 




 Some very hungry sheep! 
  This look perfect for John Duffin to paint! The old town doesn't look so bad, does it!



Monday 21 January 2013

21st January 2013

Steve Hillman was up early with his camera,waving goodbye to us, saying 'I'm off down to the Abbey...' At this point, there was only a light dusting of snow....




 
It's about 8am! 
  

Very annoyingly, by half past five, when we could have taken some good snow photos down here, it was too dark. We have a good couple of inches of lying snow on Hawcoat, so lets hope it is still there in the morning for some real snowy photos!



Sunday 20 January 2013

20th January 2013

A bleak and cold Sunday, with temperatures at noon of zero degrees celsius again! The skies are lumpy and leaden today, so we might get snow yet.
This was taken from the top of the amphitheatre,looking across to Kirkby Moor. 

 We walked across the railway lines today, and towards Bow Bridge. The pools of water that have been lying there for weeks are now frozen over, but not enough to support our weight. Frankie took great delight in snapping the ice- until I mentioned that he might do a 'Dawn French' and step into a puddle up to head height! That's in that funny Vicar of Dibley scene where she is pursuing Richard Armitage (swoon)!
  


 
Plenty of daffs making an appearance down here though, despite the weather! 


 
 I was thinking about this building, which is the infirmary of the actual Abbey- it would probably have been full of monks with pneumonia at this time of year! It was one of the few buildings of the Abbey that was allowed a fire.

 We were also looking at the minute detailing on the bell tower building. These plinths would have held statues, maybe of marble, to decorate the outside walls. You would have seen them if you approached the Abbey church from Manor Farm.
 And there are plenty of these gargoyles to ward off evil spirits. Frankie calls them "those little guys that cling to the walls of the Abbey!"