28th January 2004

After waiting for the 'Big Freeze', it finally hit, and quite spectacularly too. Here, you can see the garden, defined by the now deceased flower border around it, looking very calm in the snow. Who would have known that only a few months ago the sunflowers were looking as though they were going to take over the world? Some plants are still determined to hold on though. We will see if spinach can be killed by the cold (if at all!).

Another view of the garden, just to give a thorough idea of what the garden looks like from all angles. Admittedly, it still looks the same - white with lots of dead twigs in. But in the summer, you will need a variety of angles to get the full benefit of what the garden can show.

Please spare a thought for the mini-garden hippo, who still roots around the garden, come rain or shine (or snow!). Undaunted by the layer of snow that buried him, he's still determined to make his way around the garden and carry on with his business. However, he must always be reminded to be on the move, otherwise...

...he will quickly disappear from sight and not be seen again until the thaw. Rumour has it that he had learnt about the eskimos and how they traditionally built igloos out of blocks of snow to protect them from the cold. I did offer to pile some snowballs into a dome shape for him, even to offer a coconut shell with a bit of snow on top, but he seemed perfectly happy and thanked me for my kind offer then snorted "No". I have learnt to never argue with a hippo, especially with a mini-garden one.

So who came to visit us last night? Although they've long since gone, the cat from next door was certainly here (and he had better not try to say he wasn't, as we have proof, as he left his footprints in the snow!) We have also had a number of visits from our feathered friends, as can be seen from their tracks too. I hope that they wern't both there at the same time, otherwise I will be left wondering which of them will be able to visit us again.

And finally, a plant that refuses to be beaten - the Spinach. It's leaves were frozen solid (good for putting straight in to the deep freeze?) so how they will be after the thaw, I don't know. If it is good at surviving the cold, it should be ok. If not, then nature may be showing us how she can make her all-natural spinach soup.