Do you know that sharp gravel that you can buy by the truck load? For the drive. The lane. The track. Men buy it because the bashed up rock wants to snap back together and form a pointy barbed stony mat. Women would rather buy the soft rounded stones that are gentle on bare summer feet. Anyway you know those sharp nasty stones well, yesterday they were falling out of the sky in the form of little rain icicles, on and off all day.
And they pack down just the same, forming a mat of ice. very unsettling. I found myself shuffling with flat feet, skidding, with tiny infant-class skating movements. 
And then it rained. And then ice fell. Then it rained then more ice. Rinse and repeat. 
The temperature stood at the cusp of freezing – allowing the rain, then freezing it as it fell. Rain. Ice. Rain. Ice.
Of course my little cooking oil car (that cannot run on cooking oil in the winter as it will go quite solid in the tank) is not allowed out on icy days. In fact it would not even get out of the garage it was so slick out there. So I was marooned on my unsteady feet.
With this lot. Have you ever seen such a naughty cat.
They are getting wilder. I am afraid for the upholstery.
I would throw them both outside but Our John has decreed that Marmalade should be an Inside Cat. Tell that to the cat, I said, as he ambushed the opening door. Of course once Our John has left for work we all do whatever we want!
We don’t have a Christmas tree this year. We have a Christmas OWL. I will show him to you tomorrow… remind me. You know who he is.
My view through the window yesterday. All ice.
Are you awake? Are you awake, yet? Are you awake, now? Boo has an extraordinary ability for sleep.
I hope you have a lovely day.
Your friend
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
66 responses to “Frozen rain falls like sharp stones”
nothing can be quite as pesky or entertaining as a young cat! Life is just fun, fun, fun, and then sleep!
I remember the joy my 2 3 1/2 week old orphan kitties were for me in between the worry if they would make it and they were brought into my home with 4 dogs OMG I know what your world is like. 🙂 We prepared for the ice you had to arrive here over night but so far so good all the linesmen are still in bed or getting breakfast made to them just in case our rain becomes solid as they had predicted. Nothing worse then living in pain getting a little better and not wanting to fall again this know too 😦 Stay safe and though my cat who is now going on 13 sleeps all day and night when it is cold and raw and runs from the door she is crazy come spring to get OUT just like me 🙂
So many ways to keep my cat from being destructive but I send JT to have her knock it off your two are best buddies 🙂 as it should be. JT is good to her but rules are rules
Our ice has all turned to rain and we are SO MUDDY this morning.. c
Our yard sadly has snowbanks and puddles 🙂
big dog and i feel the same about winter
Wicked, adorable Marmalade. Poor Boo has created a monster, a monkey to ride his back. I look at your icy pictures and imagine the cold, but it’s like we’re living on different planets. When the back of my neck is burning in the hot sunshine as I put in new plants, I find it hard to imagine shards of ice raining down from the sky. Stay warm, stay safe.
I am deeply envious of the gardening you are doing, but our time will come.. c
So glad the big dog is coping with the cold, is he still coming inside? He is such a photogenic dog
He now stands at the door in the evenings, lining up to come inside with the others, everyone has to have a shower and washed feet before settling in for the evening.. except big dog of course, he just stalks over to his mat and awaits the blankie.. c
I got up this morning at 4:30 am to temps of 60!! and it is now nearly 70! What the heck is going on? Last week we had your ice rain, this week we are getting flooding and thunderstorm warnings! I have bulbs coming up in the garden and flocks of Robins in the trees – the plants and animals are confused about what is going on. Can you believe I have all the windows open? Not that I am complaining, it is so nice to have a warm breeze drift through the house. I know it wont last, and the temps are to fall again tomorrow, back to freezing nights and cold days within a couple of days.
No my only complaint is the MUD! My poor kitchen floor……..
SEVENTY! That is so bad for the bees, i am glad that is not happening here. The mud is a shocker here too but we are steady at 34, though it will plummet again tonight which means the roads will turn to sheets of ice.. scary.. c
It’s interesting that you say that. Every beekeeper I have spoken to say the bees need a few thaws over about 45 degrees so the bees can make a cleaning flight, carry out any dead bees and waste, produce excrement, and move to a spot with more honey if the old one is running low. They all told me bees do better if there are a few serious thaws over the winter.
yes it is good if it is long enough, but if it warms up and snaps back cold again, then they are caught apart and freeze to death, but you are right they do need toilet breaks and sometimes they will die of hunger only inches from more honey, I hope mine are shuffling about but I need them huddled right back up by night, we are going back below freezing again soon.. bees have a hard life out here .. c
C, I now know why I have so many wild bees; Australia has the largest wild bee population in the world…….
I love that you have so many wild bees.. I forgot to ask, did you feed them in the winter?
Last winter was exceptionally warm and the borage flowered all year…….so much food they were spoilt for choice
Marmelade Cat is making every attempt to grow up as big as Boo too! Big Dog has got the right idea for those icy days. Stay safe and warm. Laura
Big Dog did that himself, i wrapped the blanket around him and he wriggled his head right back until I could only see an eye, then stayed that way for hours.. c
Can not get enough of Marmalade. What a lovely picture through your icy window even if the weather is miserable. Stay warm, Ce, and be careful out there as you tend to your animals. No more “falls” for you!
Morning Beth Ann.. i am very safe nowadays, no running up steps!! c
Whew. That takes a load off my mind! 🙂
Marmalade has turned into a beautiful cat, naughty or not! But what made me laugh most was Big Dog! what a guy!!
Christine
We were in the “all rain” area of Illinois. Sloppy, muddy, boot-sucking muck! The red branches make a beautiful, colorful decoration for this time of year. To what plant do they belong?
Be careful, Miss C.
That bush is the Red Stemmed Dogwood, I am planting a whole row of them below the Coupe windows this summer, they are gorgeous in the winter.. we are all rain now too, though the ice was interesting while it lasted, I can walk in the mud but everything is getting so puggy and filthy.. c
We have sun today, but it’s not helped. I still feel quite cold.
Good morning to you, c., and to the farmy.
Morning Misky!.. c
Ice, ice and more ice. It’s snowing here now. Not a lot, just tiny white snowflakes falling from the sky. If it would snow a few inches, at least we would have some traction on the ice.
Then the ice hides under the snow too, ice is nasty.. we are meant too get some of your snow, but I don’t know, i can’t see it.. c
Touching pictures. I’m really scared about you falling, so I did a google search for the crampon things. The result is here:L http://www.amazon.com/Yaktrax-Traction-Cleats-Black-Small/dp/B0094GO7CS/ref=sr_1_3?s=shoes&ie=UTF8&qid=1387724233&sr=1-3 I could not get my French card to work on Amazon USA, or I would have bought them for you. It kept routing me back to France. Also I didn’t know how big your boots are (as opposed to your feet with 6 pairs of socks). If you will order them, I will send you a dollar check.
Oh they do look excellent, I think i will get the large ones and then they will fit over my gumboots, and you are right about the socks, I have only two pair on today! They are not expensive so i will thank you so much for the tip and don’t worry about the cheque. Just the tip is a gift in itself, i never knew these things existed! I thought I might have to send for some rugby boots!! c
That looks so damn cold. The dogs and cat have got it right….I’d be an inside creature in that weather. Looking forward to seeing the owl:)
It is very wet and murky this morning, tomorrow the real cold is back.
They issued flash flood alerts for around here it was raining so much. Be careful!
yikes, c