h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So, I am in England once more and Christmas is upon us.

The snow has been falling softly here on the moorland all day since dawn, and I've not gone further than the back door. The smell of the air, so crisp and cold is full of snow. Hard to explain, but it takes me back to each cold winter remembered. Christmas Eve when we trudged to close by relatives on foot, carrying presents, and hearing that squeak you get when treading on fresh fallen, but already frozen snow. That coldness that makes your fingers tingle and your cheeks glow.

A hot drink waiting, usually laced with alcohol, followed by homemade mince pies. If anyone doubts my mother's deft touch with pastry, I invite all comers to a challenge.

And then, last night, instead of the steady sound of surf breaking onto sand, I heard the owls, hunting in the valley.

Such moments are what make life.

Michigan just got over a warm spell, and expects an Alberta Clipper to chill things here. No snow on the ground (except piles from the last big snowfall that didn't quite melt). With a little luck we will get our Christmas snow next week. The Presents are under the tree. I' m watching the snail mail for Cards and an h2g2 calendar.

It was noticeably cooler today with the wind from the north west, some hail and sleet in between the brilliant bouts of blue sky and sunshine. The stray cat is paying frequent visits for food, and so are those from the neighbours. This time last year we were snowed in. Not panicking yet.

What a lovely description Lanzababy, and welcome home Here in Birmingham we only had sleet showers

Have lovely Christmas

Websailor

A great post, Lanzababy.

I haven't tasted mince pie in a long time. If I could find canned or bottled mincemeat, I could make a crust and make a pie of my own. But I'll take your word for it about your mother's abilities as a cook.

It's been a mind-bogglingly mild Autumn here (Boston) so far. Yesterday, when I was driving to the hospital district to have an echocardiogram, I saw pansies blooming in front of one of the buildings I passed. The lawn around the pansies was green and well-mowed. Will we have a Green Christmas? It's possible.

Can I join in the hugfest?

Welcome to your other home, Lanza.

It seems odd to me to be talking about snow at Christmas, because this is something I only experienced for the first time last year.

Merry Christmas Gnoman

Thanks, Rosie!

Owls. Snow. Mince pie. We have all of those things in my area, though maybe not right now. Maybe we'll get snow at Christmas, or maybe we won't.

The funny thing is,we sometimes get snow when nobody expects it. The day before Halloween this year, my brother invited the whole family to his house for dinner. Unfortunately, a massive snowstorm immobilized the whole area, and he had to cancel. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their power, some for a week or more. But there has been little or no snow since then.

The weather in New England is tricky and unpredictable. We might get little or no snow this winter, or we might get bombarded.

That reminds me, I need to put my snow shovel in a convenient place so I can grab it when it is needed.

That's so wonderful Lanza. (I even blamed 2legs for this journal entry).

I'm jealous. It's been unseasonably warm in Chicago, feels more like early October or late April than mid-December. We had windows open earlier in the week. I want my winter!!

I hope you enjoy your visit with your parents!

pop in for a cuppa, I'll put't kettle on

morning all! *sips coffee

The weather here today can't make up its mind. So far its snowed, rained, sleeted and we've had fleeting sunshine too. I was hoping for rain so I can take mum into the shops. I don't want any icy patches left in case she slips. Also the rain would wash the snow off my car for me.

I just realised it's so close to Christmas! I should rush about a bit.

Hi Lanzababy! Great to hear about the owls, they're among my favourite birds! Snow too ... I've never experienced it, and it's highly unlikely that this Christmas will be the exception (especially since it is high summer here).

Hi Willem

I'd gladly send you some snow, if I could. It looks really pretty to begin with but then you find it gets all mushy and then freezes in places to make the pavements treacherous to walk on. I've stayed in the house for both of the two days since I arrived.

I think I like owls too, because they are so mysterious and you hardly ever catch sight of them. You can hear them and know they are flying in the dark. The last time I saw one quite close up, was when I was driving back across the moors at night and one swooped right in front of my windscreen and totally startled me. By the time I realised that the pale thing had been an owl it had vanished. My heart was racing by then.

I can quite imagine them being mistaken for ghosts as this thing was quite spooky!

I'll tell you an interesting thing about owls. They can't see in the dark any better than humans. They get around by memory most of the time.

When my father built his house in 1952, there was huge apple tree in front of it. The base of the trunk was hollowed out by rot. In the upper branches, though, there was a little white owl. That's the only owl I've ever seen in real life.

There was a cartoon owl that I grew fond out: Howland Owl, in the comic strip "Pogo." He was said to be a caricature of U.S. Senator Howland, whom I didn't know. Anyway, Howland Owl was a know-it-all who liked to spout nonsense that people nevertheless believed because they thought he was very wise.

My favorite Howland Owl line was: "I have answers for everything except questions."

The owls are not what they seem

Many years ago I had to walk past a cemetery very late in the evening. I told myself I didn't mind this at all, but myself had a hard time believing this...

Suddenly a huge owl flew out of the cemetery just over the hedge that surrounded it. Only a few yards from me. Not a sound was heard

Except for my heart beating like a steam hammer, of course

http://www.dvrconline.org/raptoradapt.html#Eyes

You made me curious about owl vision Gnomon, as I remembered watching some recent tv demonstrating them flying in a barn with obstacles, in almost pitch darkness.

The EGE on Barn Owls looks like it might be a candidate for an update in the future too. A847479