Friday, March 21, 2014

Washed Away in the UK

Hi, I'm Pippa Jay, author of science fiction and the supernatural with a romantic soul. When I first saw the blog topic of Headlines for March, I thought I'd struggle to find something to write about. Not so. While the US has shivered under a polar vortex, the UK has had one of the mildest but also the wettest and most stormy winters that I can remember in my lifetime. While I've been lucky to live in one of the few places relatively untouched by any of it, apart from a garden that resembled a swamp than a lawn and had my chickens wishing for webbed feet if their little face were anything to go by, it still had an affect. The East Anglian coastline took a hammering and coastal defences were overrun. Hardly surprising when this is the kind of battering they took.


 Though we live a half hour drive from the coast, it's one of our favourite places to go with the family, weather permitting. Mersea Island is one of our frequent haunts, and has provided inspiration for several scenes/stories in my work (including a scifi short - The Bones of the Sea). But even here you can see the weather has had an impact.


I count my blessings that a boggy garden has been the worst we suffered, while my heart goes out to those who have lost everything in the flooding, many of whom still can't even return to their homes. And I'm even more grateful that spring appears to have arrived! I've already had a couple of warm sunny days sat out in the garden with my laptop or my lunch while my girls peck their way round the undergrowth. Let's hope there'll be no more storms hitting the headlines...or hitting us!


Find me at:
Website
Blog

5 comments:

Judith Ashley said...

We had frost on the car at 8 this morning but the day time temperature will be close to 60. I'm more than ready for the frost to be gone after the bitter cold days and nights this winter. The calendar says Spring is officially here and my garden is beginning to perk up but I do wish for it to be a bit warmer at night!

Glad you escaped the worst of it. Your girls look fat and happy in this picture.

Pippa Jay said...

We're still getting chilly nights, but I think we're past the frosts now. We've had some lovely weather, and my girls are certainly making the most of it!

Sarah Raplee said...

What an amazing (and scary) video! I didn't realize the was so extensive. My heart goes out to everyone affected. Those who've never lived through a major flood have no idea how horrible it is.

Keeping my fingers crossed your spring is full of nice weather.

We're hoping to have 'girls' of our own soon. Do you have any advice for us?

Pippa Jay said...

Thanks Sarah! Oh, read up lots. The biggest pest with our girls is the red mite - they hide in the cracks and crevices of the coop and bite at night. We feed ours layers pellets or sometimes mash, and let them wander the garden for a while each day if weather is good - foraging stops them getting bored. You can boil up veggie peelings to feed them (but NOT potato). Don't give them too much corn - that's like the chicken version of chocolate. Make sure they have plenty of bird grit available. Careful they don't eat long grass - they can choke on it. They like to perch if you give them branches at different levels. Give them cod liver oil on their food and cider vinegar in their water occasionally - helps prevent them get egg bound. That's the thing most likely to make them ill/die.

Diana McCollum said...

Terrific, scary weather video. Hope your spring has finally sprung. We're still waiting for ours here in Bend, OR. This is a high desert area, so takes longer to reach 70's or 80's. Usually by July. It was 19 degrees last night, and all week has been hovering in the 20's at night , 40's in the day. I am hoping it warms up soon. Your chickens look happy!!