I don't think that was supposed to happen!

We have been keeping an eye on the weather forecast with the last car boot sale looming. It has been for cold and minus temperatures following rain. Which is bad enough...but who sent snow? It is a full month earlier than the first snow last year.

It's only October for goodness sake! And not only did we have a few inches of snow, which had started to thaw by bed time, we have no minus temperatures. And today it is snowing again. We are thankful that we have not had the strong winds that a lot of Bulgaria is experiencing.

The country is suffering again, with a state of emergency declared for Burgas on the Black Sea coast and homes being evacuated, flooding, strong winds, fallen branches and trees and landslides throughout the country. My heart goes out to those affected and we count our blessings that so far we have merely been inconvenienced. There will be many who will be happy to see the end of this year.

So the last car boot sale was cancelled and I feel a bit sad. I hated them at first, but now I quite look forward to them as a social occasion firstly and as a means of distributing excess produce and household items second. Still, only five months to the next one. I hope the weather forecast is wrong about the -5 they have given in the next few days.

 It is really beautiful, the snow, probably more so as there are still some leaves on the trees. This is causing some of the problems over the country as the weight of the snow settling on the leaves is much greater than normal, when snow arrives after the leaves have fallen. I heard a loud crack this morning and am hoping it was just rhe fast growing trees on the border which are really brittle and still have all their large leaves.

Trees bent to the ground by the weight of the snow

The dogs are loving it of course, and Bonnie has once again tried being puppyish, bless her. The excitement just makes her think of one thing though....BALL! And at least the snow has stopped the dogs bringing in piles of mud.

There's my ball Dad....

Hello, here's me....

Splash would not go out yesterday. Far too cold and everywhere looks very odd to a little kitten. But today his nosiness and need to be involved got the better of him. While Dave was getting bags of straw from a previously cat free zone to put around the water metre/stop tap pit, and more for the chickens to play in, Bella was excitedly running around and Bonnie wandering aimlessly about, he just had to go and see. So off he went, trying to avoid Bella racing about, falling into deeper snow, but determined to find out what was in that shed he hadn't been in.

Dare I....

Don't seem to be able to avoid the white stuff.....

Where did Bella come from?

Brrrr, not sure this is a good idea....

Nearly there....

He came back rather faster than he went!

And of course, after being out in the awful weather you have to toast yourself by the fire....or anywhere else that is warm. Splash soon realised the fire was a good thing. Baba socks lying around on warmed tiles are just the right size for a kitten bed. All three animals are quieter when the fire is lit...and it's easy to be lazy and not do too much ourselves in the warmth.

Hot air and a water bottle

A warm tummy

Or  a computer, all nice and warm

Warm tiles and Baba socks

I'll keep Dad's thin top warm.....(shame about the eyes)

But in the cold, a devil is unleashed. A playful little devil that is. He is constantly on the move, wanting rough play with either Bella or us. We resorted to giving him a mirror which kept him amused for ages, looking for the kitten behind, batting him and sidling up to him for play. I have mixed feelings, he seems to need a playmate and he can't have one.

The chickens are just mooching. They can go wherever they like but they have plenty of space with their large house, barn and path free from the white stuff. If I ask very nicely Dave will get something cabbagey for both lots to peck at. And now they have straw to pick through too. Luckily the ex-batts are still laying enough eggs for me to get more in the freezer for those leaner days.

Did I hear someone mention cabbage?

No sign of the visitors, too busy in their straw

And we are continuing in the comfort food theme with soup, nice bread and roasted veggies. I am going to have to do something with the chillies and squash, I planned on taking some to the car boot sale...now, find a recipe for chilli sauce. Or something.

More butternut soup and cheese and walnut bread....lovely

And it's still snowing.