More snow - winter tyres test - water not frozen

We had more snowy gales overnight.

I arrive at 'Hill Farm' early as usual (around 6am). There is a light dusting of snow covering the front of the boys' stables. Their rugs also were covered in a light dusting. I had moved 'Mr F's haylage bag further back into the stable so he could eat in a more protected spot.

While the old barn was still up, it had taken away much of the winds and all that they bring along with them. At least the boys are out of the worst of it.

'Mr F' enjoying his freshly filled haylage bag. The forecast for the day wasn't pleasant, with further snow expected and we decided to let the boys out for a short leg stretch only as there wasn't any food in the field apart from the little bit of grass buried under the snow. 

Gales bringing more snow were active throughout most of the morning right through to midday, when at last the sun broke through, lighting up the wonderful winter scenery. Finally I can properly test my winter tyres on the way back up to 'Hill Farm' in the mid afternoon. Driving on untreated roads such as this one leading up to the Farm are no trouble at all.

While the boys were out for a couple of hours, the other horses stayed in and while I was at 'Hill Farm' in the afternoon, more snow arrived. The snow was like dust, light and powdery. It entered through the tiniest gaps and was found its way into the most unexpected places, even through tiny gaps in the doors. It lasted for a good 30 minutes and added yet more snow, most of which is piled up in heaps by the wind. 

A fair amount of snow (for UK 'standards') has now accumulated.

It will be fun to drive home ... 

Everything is now covered with snow.

Looking at 'Mr F's stable I do hope that the wind changes direction just a little. He doesn't seem to mind though and is wrapped warm with plenty of food and water.

Talking of water: my water experiment is successful. No frozen water yet. 'Jackie' tole me that when she goes for the nightly check up, steam was coming off 'Mr F's water buckets. Good, a result!

Here in comparison the original metal water troughs, the pipe has frozen solid so no water is coming in and a fairly thick layer of ice has formed on top which is broken up regularly.

The snowy landscape is stunning and everything is clean and quiet, including the country lanes. Without any oncoming traffic I have a bit of a play as I drive home, testing what the car can and cannot do with these winter tyres. Being Swiss I have learnt to drive in the snow of course but it has been a looooong time ago so I was making the most of these few days of road fun.

The tyres even take me through inch deep snow without any troubles at all. In fact the less treated the roads, the better. Things only get tricky on slushy, messed up roads.

I wonder what tomorrow brings, very strong winds are forecast.