Farm Life - January shivers

by Roger Hill

January can resemble a Christmas card setting, such as our resident Robin feeding from our bird table. It can also bring some of the most testing weather for farming of any month.

On average we get much milder winters than years ago with snowfall just a blip. Then of course we fall victim to chilling blasts like the ‘Beast from the East’, which caught us all unawares and underprepared.

I’m old enough to remember (as a child of course) the winter of 1963. Snow started falling on Boxing Day and continued for six weeks. There were few diggers to clear the roads. Instead we walked to the village school over ten feet high snowdrifts. Our headmistress fed us corn beef sandwiches as there were no cooking facilities. A progression of harsh winters in the seventies and eighties saw us digging sheep out of deep snow, coping with power cuts and battling to take our fresh milk to our customers.

Today a small snowfall can be picturesque, fun for the family and as long as it does not last too long, actually quite enjoyable. However ice, freezing temperatures and strong winds can be lethal. The only predictable thing about winter weather is... it is unpredictable. ‘Til next time, Roger #TuppertheTractor (website: quoit-at-cross.co.uk)

One of our resident robins