Dear Readers, there’s something about snow that takes me back to being a child – last night I stood on the front door step and watch with wonder as the streetlights lit up the falling flakes. I know that later this week I’ll be worried about the ice, but when the snow first arrives, like a whisper, I am always thrilled. And I must confess that being able to work from home, rather than having to fight onto a crowded tube train and go to the office, makes the situation much more comfortable.

It’s not very comfortable for the birds, though, so the first thing that I did was clear the snow from the bird table.

Then it’s a quick walk to the bird bath with a kettle of boiling water to break the ice. However, before I did I stopped to admire the fox tracks. The fox came in through the front garden and under the somewhat decrepit wooden door at the side of the house…

Then round and round the patio – I hope she could smell the handful of dried dog food that we’d thrown out…

and then back out to the front garden and over the garden wall.

And I am very glad that I took my spider web photos yesterday, as today the weight of snow and ice has destroyed them utterly. It reminds me of that old saying about ‘seizing the day’, and I imagine it especially applies if you’re a photographer of the natural world. A sunset, a bird, a cobweb can all be here and then gone in seconds.