Beautiful. And cold.
That’s . . . And cold. 
So, I took my camera today. And I still haven’t found my serious-weather gloves but I did find an old pair of this-is-what-the-astronauts-or-the-arctic-explorers-or-someone-use glove liners, and one of those detachable hood things that if you put it on under your woolly scarf keeps the draughts out, although you end up looking like a wicked fairy who gets her evil way by scaring people with her deadly fashion sense. I’m relearning old skills. Reluctantly. When I start cruising for winter sales on down vests I’ll know my spirit is broken.
And I was in the process of learning to take photos with my gloves on when the frelling battery ran out. Arrrrrgh.* I wanted at least one enormous white cobweb and one frosted hellhound before I quit. However these do give you the flavour of an enchanted landscape. It looks like this: it’s true I’m jogging along behind hellhounds–I don’t put coats on them, but I don’t expect them to stand around while I work out angles either–but these photos aren’t blurred: that’s the fog. Everything is new and white and unfamiliar with rime and then the furry grey fog** muffles the lot: sound and sight and colour and daylight: everything but the cold. And it certainly clouds your ability to recognise where you are: thank the gods for hedgerows, and don’t go anywhere you don’t know every hand’s-breadth of.***
* * *
* Furthermore–direst of diabolical fates–I have lost the stupid invisible-plastic-grey pointer for my palmtop. Arrrrrrgh. I’m sure it’s hiding under a bookshelf giggling with its new friends the serious-weather gloves. I’m equally sure that neoprene toe warmers will be joining this select company shortly.
** The fog comes in on little cat feet, like the man said. http://www.bartleby.com/104/76.html
But in the poem it goes away again.
*** No, every cat’s-paw-breadth of.
* * *
I’m so glad I don’t have to walk across this field.
If you fell on one of those ridges, you’d cut yourself like on barbed wire.
. . . At least I get to leave my gloves on now.
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