The chickens were a bit aloof about the snow this time around. Last time, in February, it was the first time they’d seen it, and it completely spooked them. This morning, after I’d poured a kettle of boiling water over the frozen bolts on the gate so I could get into their run to let them out, they just looked at it for a bit and then pecked at my boots.

To tell the truth, I think they quite liked it, although it did mean they took to their bed particularly early as the snow on the tarpaulin that’s keeping them dry in the rain has made their run very dark. No wonder we’re not getting so many eggs these days.

How the garden will cope with the snow, I don’t know. Apart from one apple, all of our fruit has now finished, so apart from cutting back the raspberry canes I don’t need to worry about doing anything there. We still have our parsnips in the plot, though, and I see that they have had their tops knocked flat. There are potatoes, too, in bags behind the greenhouse, but I’m less worried about them.

At least our two cabbages – a terrible start to winter crop growing if ever there was one – seem quite happy under their cloche. Let’s hope they make it through the season unscathed.

Cabbages under a cloche

Related posts:

1. The potatoes have survived the snow!
2. Deep snow on the plot
3. Chickens in the ice and snow