Snow

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

My Pond has, at last, melted sufficiently to allow me to do a little "Maintenance".
The ice was 2.5 inches thick (I measured it !) but I have had a sad casualty --- so far--- of a Golden Koi.

I would like to weigh it --- but i believe that TBA would frown on the use of the kitchen scales !!!
(My guess is about 1.5 lbs.)----- although they have had dead fish on them before but for cooking purposes !

[J.R.]

My Pond has, at last, melted sufficiently to allow me to do a little "Maintenance".
The ice was 2.5 inches thick (I measured it !) but I have had a sad casualty --- so far--- of a Golden Koi.

I would like to weigh it --- but i believe that TBA would frown on the use of the kitchen scales !!!
(My guess is about 1.5 lbs.)----- although they have had dead fish on them before but for cooking purposes !

'Cause of Death' could be interesting, Neill !

Fish normally adapt to freezing conditions, by 'shutting-down'.

Could it be oxygen starvation ? Old-age seems unlikely.

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

Yes, it could be Oxygen Starvation, since the pump (Through the UV filter and fountain) was not working, due to the feeder pipes being frozen, where they passed through the ice sheet.
I have, not yet, seen any other fatalities, but Koi are, nototiously sensitive about their conditions.

[anniexf]

Very foggy now here in north-east Brum. We're quite close to Junction 4a of the M6, & in winter when the trees are bare I can usually get a glimpse of it. Not now! Otherwise it's been a slush n' mush shopping trip, avoiding the lumps of snow dropping off the shops, then a baking afternoon in a lovely warm & fragrant kitchen. Apple and mincemeat pie, anyone?

[J.R.]

Fog rolling in here over the North Downs.

If it turns to a 'freezer' tonight, it could get interesting.

[jhopgood]

I have just returned to Valencia (18ºC as we arrived) from a long drive from the West of Ireland, Belmullet, passing through Dublin, Holywell, Chesham, London, Portsmouth, Tours, Le Puy and Barcelona, so I have seen a lot of snow, driven on some, and seen how 3 countries coped with it. There was no snow in Spain, at least in the parts we travelled.
Ireland don´t appear to have snow ploughs, have a little grit and ice, and seem to get through by driving slowly. There was a fair bit of ice under foot, but the fearless white van drivers seemed to ignore it. In the end the drive took about 40 minutes longer than that predicted by the Garmin GPS, and that was mainly down to getting stuck behind a long slow convoy.
No snow on Holyhead, lots in Holywell, but motorways and A roads seemed pretty much ok. Not so anything off the main roads. Brittany Ferries seem to have the idea that there is no point clearing the car park before the ferry since if you can´t handle that, you will never get off the ferry. A good three inches of snow. The drive down the A3 was interesting as we hit both fog banks and snow covered roads.
I was nervous about what I might find in France.
Clear roads everywhere, at least the motorways, main roads and even most of the minor roads. The Garmin ignores weather conditions when it plots a direct route, so we followed some roads that must be great in summer, but no so good in winter. We passed umpteen tractors equipped with snow ploughs at the front and sweepers behind and every road between towns and villages was clear. Obviously those trying to get into a side road had to get their vehicle over a metre high snow bank, but there were lots of people out with shovels and brooms clearing paths and entrances.
And the side roads were icy. We went to St Michael´s Mount and one of the locals had parked in the car park at a lower level from the causeway. She drove up and about 5 meters from the road, got stuck, got out of the car and we watched it start to slide back, driverless. And she had left the hand brake on. We managed to keep it on the straight and narrow so that it gracefully slid down into the car park and she found another exit. She was the only person we saw who had problems, although we did see some cars that appeared to have been abandoned.
What surprised me was the French ability to keep the traffic flowing compared to the British panic or do little approach. I don´t know whether the French use the farmers to help out in the outlying districts, but their traffic flowed compared to the UK that I drove through.

[sejintenej]

I would like to weigh it --- but i believe that TBA would frown on the use of the kitchen scales !!!
(My guess is about 1.5 lbs.)----- although they have had dead fish on them before but for cooking purposes !

Why not put the fish in a plastic bag before weighing? - no flesh touches the scales and the bag weighs next to nothing.

[LongGone]

My Pond has, at last, melted sufficiently to allow me to do a little "Maintenance".
The ice was 2.5 inches thick (I measured it !) but I have had a sad casualty --- so far--- of a Golden Koi.

I would like to weigh it --- but i believe that TBA would frown on the use of the kitchen scales !!!
(My guess is about 1.5 lbs.)----- although they have had dead fish on them before but for cooking purposes !

That's too bad: we normally have all of our fish survive winters in New England. Even when the entire surface of the pond freezes they have no problems: low metabolic rate and high gas levels in cold water seem to work out. Our biggest problems is in the summer when snakes get in the pond and eat the fish.

[icomefromalanddownunder]

I would like to weigh it --- but i believe that TBA would frown on the use of the kitchen scales !!!
(My guess is about 1.5 lbs.)----- although they have had dead fish on them before but for cooking purposes !

Why not put the fish in a plastic bag before weighing? - no flesh touches the scales and the bag weighs next to nothing.

Oh for goodness sake. A dead fish is a dead fish . My chest freezer once housed a dead koala: the previous owner was a taxidermist.

[Angela Woodford]

How I loved the pictures of the Oxfordshire police tobogganing downhill on their riot shields!

[englishangel]

PEDANT ALERT

Thames Valley Police ACTUALLY. Covers the largest area in the country, Bucks, Berks and Oxfordshire, and the second largest in officer numbers (after the Met.)

But yes, I thought it was hilarious. "Snow brings out the child in all of us". (Not the grumpy guts to whom I am married who has not stopped moaning since the snow started)

[J.R.]

I would like to weigh it --- but i believe that TBA would frown on the use of the kitchen scales !!!
(My guess is about 1.5 lbs.)----- although they have had dead fish on them before but for cooking purposes !

Why not put the fish in a plastic bag before weighing? - no flesh touches the scales and the bag weighs next to nothing.

Oh for goodness sake. A dead fish is a dead fish . My chest freezer once housed a dead koala: . The previous owner was a taxidermist.

I await your recipes with interest !

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

A bit late now --- the Koi has gone, via the local Council to the great Waste Tip in the Sky !!!

Actually, on retrieval, it did look good enough to eat !

[englishangel]

all gone, except for the dirty piles which are fading fast.

[Mid A 15]

all gone, except for the dirty piles which are fading fast.

I'm not sure I wanted to know that!