Rain forecast

Was so pleased with myself yesterday afternoon to have cleared all the snow. It would mean with the warming wind overnight and the forecast rain, we wouldn't have one huge 5,000m2 ice rink once it turned cooler.

During the  night was sitting at my desk right next to the window and a couple of times was panicked by an express train as the snow avalanched off the roof just a metre away. At last the PV panels would be snow free. Went to bed happy.

This morning woke up to the scene of the alley again white but this time at least as much on the two previous days and worse very heavy wet snow! I knew it had to be cleared but full of trepidation as the snowblower was clearly not in great shape yesterday and I had to abandon it.

I said to Angie as I went out ",,,,,and I think the starter cord is about to break". The starter cord broke! I found a lawnmower engine I had rescued from the recycling yard a few years ago and the starter cord was good. Got it on to my machine. Then I tipped the blower up to have a look underneath and to my horror saw the drive mechanism was far worse than expected and no chance of a temporary repair.

No machines today! Angie is great at shovelling and had 50 cm wide paths done all over the place for people and cats. I had to do the drive entrance to the road done so that the postman couldn't injure himself (we are liable for people on our property). Angie was expecting the farrier today to do an urgent shoe removal or re-shoe with winter rubber inlays that help prevent the horses walking on stilts, the combination of warm hoof sole and freezing cold metal horseshoe makes snow riding, even walking or just standing around, dangerous. The pony is barefoot so not a problem. So Angie cleared the bits she needed for him to work. He called later to cancel, he couldn't get out of his drive!

We abandoned the drive and parking area and will have to face the consequences. Melting, freezing, fresh snow, car compacts it - melting, freezing, fresh snow, car compacts it ...... and then weeks long after it has stopped snowing, and it gets warmer, walking on an ice rink.

As the forecast is now for more snow Friday, Sunday with temperatures again plummeting to -8°C at night and maximum -5°C daytime, Angie quickly did a shop. The public roads are 100% clear, the fear is that should there me one big dump of snow as has happened before of 50 cm then the cars will simply bottom on our drive even if they have no problem as such with traction.

Good evening dog walk with Luna, the forest looked much too deep with no vehicle tracks to use and only perhaps one person's tracks but luckily the parish council tractor had cleared a long circular farm track for the villagers to use. Only a cm of packed ice (it was -3°C at that time) but easy going as the tractor tread gave a good rough surface.

Council probably cleared the track as our county went over the average 7 day average 200 new cases per 100,000! Means we have a 15 km radius lockdown except for essential reasons, and the locals need to have exercise possibilities. Daughter Kate in Cavan Ireland was stopped by the police on her way to Lidl as she was outside her 5km radius - luckily like us, food shopping is allowed.