Sunday 8 February 2009

The Great Dartmoor Snowfall!


WOW! We awoke on Friday morning to no power and nearly two foot of snow! It was a bit of a shock, but it has been a fun, if exhausting, weekend! It has been amazing to see the village come to an almost complete standstill . The square has had tractors moving through it only, but the inhabitants ( and their dogs - more loose dogs than I knew there were here! ) have been out in force. I love the sense of good cheer and camaraderie that comes out in times like this. The local farm made it down to the dairy with fresh milk, and they sold it from the pavement outside, as there was no electricity inside. There were trees down all over the place , bowed down with the weight of snow, and most of the roads out were blocked.


This is the lane up to the farm where the ponies live. It is only a mile from the village, but up a steep hill, and it took us the best part of an hour to get up there through the thick snow.


The ponies were up to their knees in snow, and extremely pleased to get their hay.


The only problem was Red, a big old baby ( 19 years old) who had got himself into a terrible panic about the snow in the night. He had managed to smash his way out of the field during the night - thankfully uninjured, although the wooden gate was in pieces, with great sharp shards sticking out. He didn't like the snow at all, or the noise of the trees moving under the weight, or the odd sensation of walking in it. The poor boy was in a quivering mucksweat when I arrived. He eventually settled down - for all his posturing, he's actually very nervous, and likes nothing better than a bossy human to tell him it's ok, and take all the worries off his shoulders. You could almost hear him breathing a sigh of relief, and thinking "Pheww, she's come to sort out everything, and she says this white stuff's ok, and she's walked into the barn, despite 2 ft of snow on the roof, and she's going to leave all the gates open, so I have an escape route , just in case I need to use it!"

It is my turn to help out at Brownies this week, and I am supposed to be preparing a toy making activity to take along. The main plan is to make finger puppets, but it occurred to me that some of the little girls haven't sewn before, and might struggle to complete a toy in an hour. So, the girls and I all made a simple version of the 'ball and cup' game this afternoon, to check we could do it in the time. The cups are made out of sheets from a wallpaper sample book, and the balls are those lovely woollen pompons that I used to make with my grandmother!

20 comments:

Sarah Sullivan said...

Oh what peaceful pictures! I miss living in the country!! Love the fluff balls - I lead a GS troup for about 5 years - loved it.

annette emms said...

What beautiful pictures Danielle! I watched the news and thought about you, when I heard about the snow in Devon.
So pleased to hear that all is now well with the ponies.x

Leola - Southshoreartist said...

I love the photos of the snow and the horses all bundled up in their coats. I received a phone call from cousins today from England to tell us about the snow. You have more snow there than we do right now in Saskatchewan....go figure LOL

Gail H. Ragsdale said...

Danielle, I can not believe how spectacular the scenery is! What gorgeous countryside. Poor Red, he's lucky he didn't hurt himself! It's a good thing you were able to get to him to calm him down. I didn't realize he was 19.

Debra Keirce said...

Red would have loved it here in VA today! It was 69 F, room temp! (
We paid for it with temps in the teens - well below 0 F - last week.) My daughter made these puppets when she was in brownies. They wrapped yarn around sticks. They used popsicle sticks, but I suppose any stick would do. They gave them google eyes and then cut and glued strands of yarn to the head for hair. After, they had a puppet show.

Kathleen Coy said...

Wow, you've had more snow than me this winter, that's for sure. Kind of strange because we usually get a lot. Love the photos, at least I can enjoy snow that way, lol.
Poor Red, I'm glad he wasn't hurt. Give the big baby a kiss from me.

Jennifer MacNeill said...

Wow, the photos are gorgeous. I love snow even though it can be a big pain. There's something magical about it:)
Take care, Jen

artbyakiko said...

Wow! So much snow and it is BEAUTIFUL. Hope those fallen trees will be cleared away soon. I'm glad that Red is ok.

Jennifer said...

Wow, I don't envy all that snow at all. We have only got that much snow at one time maybe twice since we have lived on the farm. It is beautiful in pictures though! I am glad the horses are all OK.

Totally Timmy said...

Your ponies are so beautiful. I could almost mistake your location for Canada right now. We have been getting slammed with so much snow this year but I love it!

Jess said...

That's a LOT of snow! Makes amazing photos though doesn't it? The one with the fallen tree looks like a christmas scene.x

Linda said...

So Glad all Your Four Legged are safe for Red.
Beautiful Pictures..
Danielle, you are nominated in the artists choice awards, if you haven't already you need to go there join and accept the nomination.
Lindaxx

Angie @ thejunkranch said...

Enjoyed seeing your beautiful photos. I couldn't imagine so much snow here in NC...it was nearly 70 yesterday. I'm glad Red is feeling more secure. It took our Chico 2 years being here with us before he would come into the barn when it rained.

Carol Buck & Dottie Martz said...

Love seeing all of the snow! We never get that much (30 yrs ago we did!), so it was nice to see that. I do miss playing in it!
Glad to hear Red wasn't hurt!

Leslie Moore said...

Hi Danielle--I owe your discovery to Totally Timmy (Thanks Tim!). I love your part of the world, your subject matter (all things animal), and your paintings. What a happy discovery!

Gwen Buchanan said...

You have the most amazing view.. so charming.. it is exactly what I imagined an English countryside to be.. and I loved seeing you and your horses in it!

Is this the most snow you have ever had?

Caroline said...

Wow! That's a lot of snow - it looks beautiful though! Kind of makes me homesick for the English countryside, but then again, think I prefer the warmth here in KL!! Poor ol' Red though, what a state to get in!

Renee said...

These pictures are all so wonderful. xoxoxo

Chris said...

This is fascinating. I love these photos. It's so hypnotic for someone who's sitting here in L.A.

bright star said...

Really beautiful ,all we have had in Cornwall is rain!

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