The moat is frozen in Poland - is this a sign of things to come here this winter?

A very mixed up week for me this week, as I have not been in the UK for a good part of it. Everywhere I’ve been has been very grey, pretty drab with not much happening. Not ideal material for a cheery Friday blog!

The good news as my wife keeps telling me is it is only a week or two to the shortest day of the year and then everything starts to stay lighter for longer.  Wow that was quick!

This notion led me to look-up the long-term weather forecast for Winter 2016/2017. The one I looked at was produced on 1^st December.

The gist of it was;

It could be very cold this winter, but it is not likely to be cold for long, although it might be. It will be cold at times with very mild bits in between and January is likely to be the coldest time, although it could be colder in December or February depending on how the models end up. It is not supposed to be a very wet windy winter like last year but there will be spells that will be very, very wet and extremely windy and we should always be ready for these as its winter, but it should be drier than average as long as it doesn’t rain too much in the mild periods.

Got that?

Now for the real test question ….

What clothes should you buy for this winter to cover up in the weather described – and I am not talking about the latest fashion colours?

I think the answer is anything could happen at any time so be prepared. Not quite as interesting but probably as accurate.

And now for the crowning glory in the forecast …

There may also be several days of very quiet weather with not much happening.

Followed by ….

As ever we will evaluate this forecast at the end of the season.

As far as I can see they have everything covered and they are going to look back at the end of the season to make sure that everything was covered and no one can say they didn’t predict whatever happens in the season to come. Do we pay someone to write this? I do hope not.

I have to say, our weather forecasts are brilliant for the next day or two but they are completely worthless beyond that.

As far as I can see, we have just had the several days with not much happening, so hopefully we are now in for an exciting winter with loads happening every day. At least it will make my blog more interesting!

Primed and ready to attack

With not much happening weather wise and the devil's dampness in the air, our two cats continue to be disillusioned with life and looking for something greater. Sadly, the option of a new skateboard or whizzy computer game is lost on them and they are trying to reach greater happiness partly through dreaming, (sleeping at length as I have described previously), and partly through knocking spots off each other.

A couple of weeks ago I highlighted the need to be vigilant with regards to the menace of ticks, but we now have many false alerts with the number of scars they are starting to amass. Every day they seem to get another lump or bump that turns out to be a scratch.

The hissing counter is also running off the scale and the scowling and bad temper is a match for any failing marriage. The minute one or other of them gets comfortable, they are immediately bitten to within an inch of their patience, so they sleep with one eye open and claws extended.

Any time I am at home I become each of the cats favourite person while they feel protected from direct attack, although this doesn’t rule out the odd unexpected stealth attack. I have a cat bed on the table next to me in the study and while one cat was sleeping the other cat tried to pull the bed off the table onto the floor by grabbing the blanket with his claws. He failed, but it was a good positive show of intent, a shot across the bows if you will. 

Wild birds can spread the disease

We love wild birds. We watch them every day and we feed them continuously to help them survive the winter. But yesterday I heard on the radio about the threat of a new strand of avian flu that is on its way.

It is spread by wild birds but could have a serious impact on chickens and then jump across the species gap to humans. Therefore, it is recommended that anyone owning chickens should now house them indoors until the coast is clear!

Apparently, they don’t need a special room, just somewhere with a comfortable settee, 40 inch colour TV and coffee making facilities.

There were interviews with several chicken owners, most of whom had heard nothing about this until the radio show. In fact, if it had been a practical joke people would not have been surprised.

However, it wasn’t and here is the link to the government page. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-to-protect-poultry-against-avian-flu

It doesn’t mention the bit about a colour TV but come on you have to make a good impression!

One poor chap had 16,000 chickens to keep indoors for 30 days, the maximum that he is allowed to keep them in before they completely freak out. Just imagine 16,000 different TV channels all on at the same time, no wonder they freak out. We now understand why sky need to provide us with so many channels.

I am sure keeping 16,000 chickens together in one barn will freak them out well before 30 days.

Reportedly, during the last avian flu epidemic the main cases of humans becoming infected were down to extremely close contact between the chickens and their keepers. The example used was people sleeping in the same cages as their birds. Call me old fashioned, but that is not something that I imagine happens deliberately very often, or am I wrong?

I don’t imagine people sleep in cages that often, let alone with their pet chickens. I don’t mean to underplay the importance of protecting us from a flu epidemic, but it is a strange example, if you are trying to persuade people to act responsibly.

Flu is passed from birds to other birds feeding at the same site, especially where aquatic birds are concerned, so I am surprised that people aren’t being asked to avoid feeding the ducks in the park, just in case someone is walking their pet chicken in the vicinity.

Evidence of a new life skill

Last week I acquired a new badge for my life skill uniform. I made my first loaf of bread, and it worked (well just about). Ok, it was rather flatter than a “normal” loaf and not quite as crusty as it could have been but it was bread and it tasted good.

The reason for my efforts was the need to avoid sugars in food. Anything I can do to reduce the quantity of sugar is a good thing. I gave up eating bread for a long time, but I thought that if I could make it myself, then maybe I could eat it regularly as I do like it. The amount of sugar put into bread is actually quite frightening, but it does make bread last longer. My loaf was pretty much stale in a couple of days, although there was none left so it wasn’t wasted.

I know many people will have an electric bread maker and probably see this as a strange thing to get excited about, but for the bread making novices like myself who just have their bare hands to make bread, it was a new badge of honour. I am already putting the life skill on to linked-in and being endorsed by my wife.

Next stop Great British Bake Off!

Figs in winter - no climate change?

I have previously commented on the likely non-compliance of America to their climate change targets with Donald Trump becoming president. Well this week a chink of light appeared on the horizon of climate change, and it came from the unlikeliest of sources. Ivanka Trump – daughter of the president elect, actually met with Donald Trump and Al Gore to discuss the topic. She is apparently quite keen to champion climate change while her father is in the white house.

This may only be the start of a discussion on the topic but at least it has started. Everyone else he has appointed seems to have a different derogatory term for those people who think that the climate of the world is changing.

My own litmus-test this week was the taxi driver taking me to work one day in Poland. He announced that winter now does not start until January and that it has changed in the last few years. No white Christmases any more and more cold, drab, grey weather.  We have already come to this conclusion in the UK I think.

Beautiful square in Wroclaw

This week’s Xmas advert has nothing to do with wildlife and everything to do with cold weather. I won’t ruin it any further.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yZOab5gl-4 

Picture Round

I’ve included a few pictures of my trip to Poland this week rather than a quiz. They certainly know how to light up at Xmas. The city I visited was Wroclaw pronounced Vrot-swarv. It has a population larger than Bristol and Bath put together and is in the southern part of Poland. The city centre square is very beautiful.

It has had a turbulent history and was known as Breslau until just after the war as the city was part of Germany. When the Potsdam Conference decided on the borders of Poland it became part of Poland again as it had been in the past.

Have a great weekend!

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