Mild & snowy

 
Another bout of the white stuff today. 
You'd think the air would feel cold, or chilly at least.  But this is one of those snowy times when it's actually quite mild out.

Surprise snow

 
No one really expected snow as the weather had been mild really for December - but then snow comes at unexpected moments.
There was enough snow to make it, in some parts of the country, an official White Christmas, but Staffordshire's substantial falls were a couple of days later. This is the scene on the hills & moors to the north of Leek, where it always comes thickest.

Famous photograph

This form of photograph is quite famous.  There is something bleak and yet profound about converging railway lines rolling into the infinite distance - which is why photographers like it.

This last snowfall was a nice one - thick and not damp.

Snow on the hills

Just when we thought it wasn't going to happen, Winter started. The north of the county, in the Moorlands, got the most snow of course - as here at Cauldon overlooking the quarry works.

Bad, bleak winter

Sometimes a 'bad' photo can tell more of a story than a 'good' one.  I took this more by accident than anything else and was going to delete it, when I thought better of it.
It has been a nasty, sleety late evening, with snow coming on; and somehow this photo described that sort of miserable weather better than any other I had taken.

There's almost a touch of Edward Hopper about it (IMHO).

Too much snow

Snow is back ... again, again.  As I've pointed out before, we are not used in England to these recurring bouts of snowfall over the season.

This time, Nature seemed to enjoy the joke, by sending blizzard conditions, with the snow-flakes whipping around in a blinding fog, followed thirty seconds later (I kid you not) with an equally blinding sudden sharp sunshine. This rotation occurred a good half-dozen times during the day.
But - because the sudden sunshine melted the preceding snow in moments - nothing much has stuck.

Frankly, I've had enough of snow.

Spears of icicles in rows

The chilly weather refuses to go away - so much so that, even after any evidence of snow has pretty much disappeared, winter is still dug in in more shaded places.

I was walking under this old railway bridge, when I looked up - to see these rows of gleaming, dagger-sharp icicles above me. I suddenly knew Damocles must have felt like.

Hanley... improved

Strangely the light fall of snow has stuck, so the white stuff is still with us.

Frankly, the (laughably-named) Gateway To Hanley approach looks considerably improved by the conditions.

Bottle-oven in snow

The snow has come back yet again, though this time as but a light layer of icing-sugar... so to speak.

Strange about the frequency of the bouts of snow. It seems like we have had five or more separate snow-falls this winter, just when I was beginning to get used to having one or two at most every winter.  Still, snow is better than hail & gale.

What you see in the photo is an old pottery-making factory with its own kiln (bottle-oven) stuck in the centre of it. 
Of course, the bottle-ovens are now all listed, and none is actually working, so when this building was turned into offices, they had to keep the kiln in the centre, just as it was!

Frozen at the cemetery

This pool at Keele Cemetery was still frozen (at least, apart from the edges) as I passed it today. Curious: as most of the snow is now gone, apart from some dirty clumps lying by roadsides. I really must brush up on my physics and discover why it remains frozen even now.

Keele Cemetery is very new; and the building in the background, which looks like a library … well... is, really!  Being all modern, it contains Newcastle Borough’s main burials-history research study-area, a community meeting room for the village (!), and offices of course – as well as the usual.
Seems a far cry from the Victorian cemeteries - where a Gothic-looking chapel/gatehouse might be the only structure apart from the graves.

Pelicans in the snow

You don’t often see pelicans in snow. Their natural habitat is warmer regions than our own. You can’t help feeling they are a bit bewildered by the white-stuff.

However, they are a great attraction (especially at feeding time) at Blackbrook Zoo, which is in the wilder parts of the Staffordshire Moorlands.
Sadly, the zoo, which specialises in exotic birds, has had lots of problems with the recent freezing temperatures, so it is temporarily closed. Should be back open in the next few days, I hope.

Generally, the snow is slowly receding from the ground now.

LINK: Blackbrook Zoo

Sheep cope with snow

Well, the snow came again as expected, though, here in Staffordshire, it didn't so much fall with a fury as a sort of lulling, soothing motion. Over time, it came to a slow halt, leaving a layer six inches deep in exposed areas.

There were the usual hysterics from the press, but - in general - most people (and sheep) that I came across handled it all with aplomb.
The warnings were made well in advance - and I suppose that helps.

Snow tree

The snow has stuck, despite the original fall being quite light. But the temperature is down to zero.
Apparently there will be a major snow-fall on Friday.

First snow of the year

Snow turned up overnight. It wasn't that thick, and a misty rain during the afternoon drove it from the trees.

But there's enough of it on the ground to make for black-ice tomorrow.

Underground pathway

This curious passageway, which leads under a private house in Wetley Rocks (near Leek) is, in fact, a legal public path. I can only think that the house-owner, wishing to extend the building on his/her property went ahead with their extension, but respected the law of the land enough by creating this access route under it. 
Even more weirdly, the other end of the passageway emerges in the house-owner's garden, before the path leads off into fields.

Sometimes I really am fond of the eccentric laws that England has maintained - for hundreds of years.

Snow is still with us - as you can see.

Steady snowman

The snow is fading now, but it has been thick enough – and crunchy enough – to make great snowballs, to go sledding, and, of course, to build snowmen.
This plucky little fellow was remaining steady, despite the growing thaw around him.

Duties in the snow

The snow came back overnight, with a fresh fall to thicken the previous, wilting layer.

It was fairly cold early on, so I was surprised and touched to see this couple out in the morning at Wetley Rocks churchyard. They were determined to tend a loved one's grave out there, and no snow or freezing cold was going to put them off.

Snow sticking

The snow is sticking in certain sheltered places, such as this woodland edge near Okeover.

Once again, thank goodness for the Ramblers’ Association, the group that is nearly always the one that maintains platforms like this one. Walking across this piece of boggy ground would be a wet and cold experience at this time of year without it – no matter how brilliant your boots.