Toboggan Run

Friday 29th December 2000, West Yorkshire

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IN THE AFTERNOON sun, the snow begins to disappear from branches while the road returns to plain tarmac after two days as a sleigh-slope.

snow on the meadow

Children tobogganed down the road all day yesterday and they keep going today until it starts to thaw this afternoon. For the younger ones this is probably the first snow they've really had a chance to experience. During a succession of

mild winters it's probably five years since we had a crisp, deep snowfall during the winter holiday. The last time it came on a new year's day.

Footprints in the snow record a Blackbird's progress over the patio and a cat's regular beat down our garden path.

A Grey Squirrel crosses the snowy meadow in a series of rippling little leaps.

Kessie, Welsh pony

I'm glad that Kessie, the resident Welsh pony gets plenty of attention, including regular fresh hay, as previous ponies in this field seemed to lead a lonely life.

Blackbirds bicker with each other as they prepare to roost in the shelter of a dense evergreen garden hedge as the cold of the

afternoon begins to plummet well below zero as night approaches.

Venus and the new crescent moon hang over the dusk skyline like the crest on the Mauritanian flag (all the other moon and star combinations on flags show a C-shaped waning moon).

Richard Bell,
wildlife illustrator
E-mail; 'richard@willowisland.co.uk'

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