February excuses itself



February surely is the worst of months, grey, dark, cold, often wet and windy and firmly standing in the way of Spring. Thankfully it is a short month and this year it has redeemed itself somewhat by rushing in with the flutter of snow.


Up here in North Wales we "do" weather but it is mostly of the gale force wind and rain variety. Surrounded by hills and valleys it can be fun to watch the weather rolling in but, fascinating to see how quickly it can change direction and mood. We get plenty of frost and really suffered in the ice a
few weeks ago but all too often we seem to miss the snow. Even the mountains of Snowdonia, or Eryri as it is known in Welsh, do not always boast snow covered caps throughout the winter months although this year they have had a fair share of snowy topping.


Although we have had a decent snowfall we didn't actually get a snow day at school, thousands of schools across Britain have closed but our tiny rural school bravely stayed open, children made their way across fields or in farm ready 4x4s and this morning were greeted by the sight of a snowboarder careering down the hills behind school. Yesterday it seems they spent most of the day outside building snowmen, sliding and throwing snowballs, no crazy
health and safety bureaucracy for our little school, the children had a wonderful day. On their return we took to the hill in the next field and spent the rest of the afternoon sledging.


Of course all that hill climbing is very hard work so it is just as well I made marshmallows this week, no food colouring this time; snowy white seemed more appropriate. Marshmallows made from The River Cottage Family Cookbook
recipe, perfect for floating in hot chocolate on a cold snowy day, perfect for getting through February.

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