Winter Wonderland

Little bit more than a month ago we got our first snow which stayed on the ground about a week or so. And like a good northern girl, I go always completely ga-ga at the sight of this white wonder and want to go out and play. What beauty, what majesty, it's like the nature has been covered by a soft, white feather duvet and is sleeping quietly, getting a well-deserved rest after a busy summer and autumn.

I was out of the house like a flash, stopping every few metres to admire the view, taking in the beauty and of course, taking lots of photos. Everywhere I looked my eye got caught with breathtaking views and I was 'ooh'-ing and 'aah'-ing happily. If it could only stay like this the whole winter. But I knew the with the completely bonkers climate nowadays, the snow was more likely to melt within the next couple of days, so I'd just better enjoy it, while it was here and make the most of the fabby weather.

But the weather keeps playing hide-and-seek with us. I'm still getting used to this 'mountaineous' climate (we're at 1200 metres) and its' ways; I can't quite guess what comes next and obviously, neither can  la météo française. One fine day it looked like this...

...and the next morning, without warning, it looked like that. Go figure.

I was ecstatic, Mon Cheri a bit less so. Temps pourri, he calls it, as he goes and pulls yet another pair of woollen socks on and gets yet another cup of coffee to heat himself up. I see beauty and a wonderful playground where I can turn into a child again, he sees an inconvenience. An extra bit of work. Yay, at least a chance to try our brand new snow shovel!

I let my inner child lose and got on with making a snowman and a snowcat while Mon Cheri was shovelling. What fun! For me. But make no mistake, after that I did my fair share of clearing with the snow shovel, bien sure. Which actually was fun as well.
I can say that now, but it wasn't the same in my childhood when we got new snow almost every day and then had to clear the whole, big yard daily to get the car out onto the road.

And look at those huge snowflakes, aren't they amazing! Le bonhomme de neige seems to think so too. Let it snow, I say! I'm loving this winter wonderland.

In the afternoon I went for a walk and it was still snowing slightly whilst everything else was still and quiet. I love to listen to the sound my shoes make on the snow, funny squeaking or scrunching, depending on the temperature. The best sounds happen normally when it's -20°c or so, but we won't have that in here. According to the neighbours it gets about -10°c at worst, but like I said, with the weather going crazy nowadays, we could get just about anything.

 Later on I made a snowlantern out of snowballs, piled onto a kind of igloo, and put a candle inside. They are so cute! In Finland we also make ice lanterns by freezing water in a bucket, but it's not cold enough yet for it here. I'll come back to that later in the winter, if I manage to make one.

 The next morning the snowman was leaning south like the tower of Pisa, due to the strong sunlight and warmer weather. Oh no, don't die just yet, I want to keep you a bit longer! Urgent reparations on the menu, I think.

The little road in front of the gite and the blue-grey horizon.

Another walk in a better weather and the view of our little hamlet.

The cows are still outside but these are a hardy breed, used to all kinds of weather.

Not so with our cat. I think she wants to come inside...Not a fan of winter then.

Talking of snow, ice and all thing wintery, go and check out Jonna Jinton's page on youtube where you can hear the ice 'singing'. Eerie and otherwordly sounds. Her vlogs are great too; creative life close to the nature in north of Sweden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd-CwJa1SHE&t=371s