Rain, rain…….

The banner headline on this morning’s regional paper, La Dépêche du Midi, told us what we already knew.  There’s been twice as much rain this month as is usual.  Of snow, we’ve seen hardly a flake.

Driving back from Foix yesterday, we saw meadows that have become mini- lakes.  Even more fields glistened with water as the water table has risen to the very surface of the soil. It’s made the month a somewhat gloomy one, even though the days have been pretty mild.  The mountain peaks are snow-capped, as expected, but the white stuff barely creeps down the mountainside and with all the low cloud and zilch visibility, it’s sometimes hard to know where the Pyrenees have disappeared off to.

Our regular yomps into the countryside have been a bit curtailed.  Walk after walk has been rained off, and when we do go, we choose our routes with care.  If we don’t, we’ll be lugging kilos and kilos of glutinous heavy clay with us as it clings to our boots and the bottom of our trousers.
 

Boots - with added mud
Boots – with added mud

Roll on the 2nd of February, Chandeleur (Candlemas), the day when Winter decides whether to stick around or push off.  Last year, it was icily cold, and Winter stayed and made his presence felt with several weeks of constant snow, ice and bitter cold.  This year, he‘s looking much more half-hearted about it all.  We blame ourselves. We invested in snow-tyres and snow chains for the car.  We clothed our olive tree and a few other plants in white dresses of horticultural fleece.

Our olive tree all wrapped up for winter
Our olive tree all wrapped up for winter

So Winter laughed in our face.  We daren’t change the tyres or undress the tree though.  We all know what will happen if we do.

There's snow on them there 'ills: but not a lot. As seen from our roof terrace
There’s snow on them there ‘ills: but not a lot. As seen from our roof terrace

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

12 thoughts on “Rain, rain…….”

  1. There’s been loads of rain and flooding in the UK too compounded by a fast thaw of heavy but shortlived snow. Now I’m bothered about our long weekend, just booked, in mid March as we intended to ski!

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    1. Kathryn, do not hold your breath. I was looking at the mountains today, in afternoon sun of 17 degrees, and more tomorrow, and thought thet the snow simply couldn’t last unless somthing drastic happens. Still, a weekend here would be good fun, even without the skiing, non?

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  2. Like Kathryn the snow went overnight and the puddles appeared again. Ditches & dykes are full and the orchards are badly flooded. Oh! and it’s blowing a hooley. Bring back the cold & ice.

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  3. My goodness, what a gorgeous view from your terrace! Sounds like you’re having the same kind of half-hearted winter we had last year in NY. If so, then perhaps next year you’ll get the more definitive one we’re having currently (the last few warm days notwithstanding.)

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    1. Well, tomorrow’s decision day apparently. Candlemas. The weather we get then, is the weather we’ll qualify for all the rest of the winter. So say the dinosaurs round here!

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      2. Well now. We thought ‘Groundhog Day’ was just the name of a film. But I looked up the tale on Wikipedia. It’s charming! Let’s hope it’s cloudy tomorrow for the dear old groundhog.

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      3. What is your Candlemas prediction? Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early spring: http://animaltracks.today.com/_news/2013/02/02/16756058-early-spring-the-groundhog-says?lite

        I’ve actually been to see Phil on Groundhog Day. Punxsutawney is an hour away from Pittsburgh, which is where I went to grad school. A few of us piled into the car early one morning, drove up to see Phil’s prediction at 7:30, then had breakfast and drove back for classes. The whole thing is pretty much exactly like it is in the movie, except it’s not in the middle of town. Gobbler’s Knob is actually a little clearing in the woods just outside of town. It was fun 🙂

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      4. I never actually saw the film. But I loved your link and your story about Phil. Thank you. Our next 6 weeks look grim. Yesterday was rain. Rain. Rain.

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  4. Hopefully it’ll be warm dry and sunny from the 16th when we make our next visit (half term). Hope to catch up with you.
    Kev & Liz

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