Monday, November 29, 2010

Our First Snows

On Saturday morning we awoke up to our first snow of the winter, however last night we had about 3-4inches of snow which was still settled this morning. We decided to go for a walk along the line towards Ennerdale, this looking up towards Bowthorn Farm. The footpath from Sanderson Park to the line The dogs both really enjoying their new white world Our first views across to the Ennerdale Fells with some cloud gathering behind
The snow resting on the trees
Crag returning a rather snowy stick
Not worn out yet though
One of the C2C signs along the line
Zooming in on the Ennerdale Fells where the cloud is dropping further
The sheep searching for grass beneath the snow
Guess who has just been rolling in the snow? (Bess was the same but wouldn't pose for the camera)
Our last view of the fells
And back home & the snow in the garden, Crag checking out if his friend the terrier Skip is out to play too
Not from tonight but a rare picture from last week after we took them to Longlands having a sleep together on the sofa
PS it's snowing again now as Bess & Crag model having just come in from the garden

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Wildlife Cameras

Today we checked the wildlife cameras & have our first picture of a deer Something to the right triggered it also but we have no idea what that was

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Our First Play In The Snow

Today was forecast to be beautiful & with snow on the tops we planned to go over to Ennerdale to take a few more panoramic shots. We decided to go to Red Pike as we knew the views would be amazing but when the day dawned with sub zero temperatures we changed our plan & headed for the shorter & safer road to Bleach Green.
We started up the route to Crag Fell, our first glimpse of the lake
And we reach our first point, Knock Murton to Herdus
Looking down on the lake, the path to the far left is the one we helped to clear yesterday
Looking up to Crag Fell, sadly no sign of snow on this side of the valley
As we cross Ben Gill Bess goes for a dip, brrrrrr
We reach the point where the path splits, Crag Fell to the left or off to the right as we go to Grike
Crag had scratched at the fence shortly before this point as he had spotted a small patch of snow on the other side, we were amazed he had remembered it from earlier this year & wanted to play with it.
We soon however find some on our side of the fence. Karen with the first snow we have reached this winter! (OK it's only slightly larger than an ice cube but it's snow)
As we climb higher Bess breaks the ice on this small pool, see it below her
And at the top of the pool & on the grass. She will go to any lengths to play in water
We look towards Pillar & Steeple & realise a lot more snow fell in the valley after we left yesterday
We reach the summit of Grike & our next panorama. This is the most westerly fell in the valley & from here we can capture the tops of almost all the Ennerdale Fells.
High Stile through to Steeple all looking like an alpine scene
And slightly less zoomed we spot there is some snow along the wall to the right where we are heading next
Grike summit shelter with Cleator Moor in the distance
The Isle of Man & maybe Ireland to the right in the far distance
And Scotland is very clear to the eye (if not so the camera)
Zooming in on Pillar & Steeple
We drop into the forest, this icy track we will take later for another shot
Starling Dodd to High Stile
And we reach a better quantity of snow, note the dogs are walking up it whilst Andy sticks to the grass
It has drifted quite deep here
Andy & his favourite wall (it goes on for miles) & of course some snow
Bess waits patiently for Karen to throw her a snowball
Very icy & cold here
The panorama of the valley from our lunch spot
And along the wall to Caw Fell
Red Pike to Steeple
Pillar & Steeple
The dogs love the snow (almost as much as Karen), Crag likes to chase & carry snowballs, here he is recommending two we can throw for him
Bess likes the snow kicked up for her to catch
Andy throwing a snowball for Bess to catch
The sun has dropped on us as we head for the final point however it is still shining on Great Borne & Starling Dodd
As we leave the forest Red Pike & High Stile
Our final viewpoint of the valley
And in the other direction Grike where we were earlier
Red Pike to Steeple from this point
Pillar & Steeple
Pillar
Starling Dodd to High Crag
We descend & are soon out of the sun although it is still shining brightly in the valley
A lovely days walk & great to get to play in the snow