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From the farm at Yockenthwaite
We are white with snow! The daffodils in the back croft are just poking their tops out onto the surface and it is still trying to snow some more.
The vernal equinox was last week, so it is supposed to be spring but, as usual, no-one has bothered to tell winter. He has been out enjoying himself all weekend and families that might have been out on an Easter egg hunt have ended up spending their break sledging and building snowmen!
We had two events cancelled at the weekend which was very disappointing and not knowing until the last minute what was happening rather spoilt things, because it was far too late to make alternative plans.
We did get out on Easter Monday to a one-off event near Ripon, but it was bitterly cold and the turn-out was poor. Throughout the day we had flurries of snow, interspersed with spells of bright sunshine, but the wind was biting and everyone was glad to get packed up and back on the road home.
All things considered we did OK because we did make some sales and managed to get in a delivery on the way home, so the day was not a total waste of time.
At this time of year everyone is ready for that bit of extra warmth from the sun and it was noticeable on the way home, with the sun shining through the windscreen, how much warmth there was. It was a beautiful ride and coming back over Greenhow the views of the snow-capped hills were spectacular.
A snow shower drifted up Wharfedale in front of us but, by the time we reached Grassington, the skies were clear blue with wall-to-wall sunshine. It is very changeable and it is also very unpredictable.
We had first-hand experience of that on Sunday when we had a young family come knocking on the door after being caught in a heavy snow shower late in the afternoon.
The youngsters were only about two and four and were frightened and crying bitterly; mum and dad were upset and all four were cold and wet.
It had been lovely for most of the afternoon and they had left their car at Hubberholme and walked up the riverside, but the weather had turned quickly and they had become disorientated and completely at a loss which way to go - easily done, but it certainly showed that you should never underestimate the weather while walking out in the country and you should certainly be prepared for all eventualities.
We heard the curlew early last week which is always a good sign and the oyster-catchers are also back, flying up and down the river and strutting on the banks with their striking black and white plumage and orange bills.
Keeping an eye on the wildlife is usually quite a good indicator and we are always heartened to have these beautiful wading birds back from their winter feeding ground out on the mud flats and salt marshes of Morecambe Bay.
From the top of Fleet Moss on a clear night you can see the lights out on the coast at Morecambe and, although it is now a rather modest seaside town, the bay itself is an important estuary and has the third largest population of wintering wildfowl in Britain.
2:50pm Thursday 27th March 2008
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