Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Friday 15 December 2023

A Rather Eventful Visit to Herefordshire

 

During the cold spell at the end of November and beginning of December we went to the caravan for a few days. It turned out to be much colder than we thought!

There has been quite a change in the Herefordshire Oak in the course of a few weeks!









The Octopus Tree and



the Constable Tree




We woke up to frosty mornings.








One night there were reports that people were seeing the Northern Lights all over the UK so we popped outside for a look.  Apart from a slight glow on the horizon which was probably something else we had no luck.




On the second morning we woke to find we had no running water and the kitchen waste pipe wasn't working! It had apparently been minus 8 the night before.  We discovered we had two frozen pipes on the exterior of the caravan. Normally when we are not there we turn off water to the caravan and do a mini draindown but of course being there this had been reversed!  The laundrette on site was thankfully open and we were able to get water for a cup of tea.  At lunchtime there was no sign of the pipes unfreezing so B went into Leominster to buy a hairdryer to try and help them along. Fortunately that idea eventually worked and we had water and a working kitchen waste pipe again! B also added more lagging to the exterior pipes.  It was a right pain as there were two events I was keen on attending - a Christmas Tree Festival at Bromyard Church and a display through Leominster of tractors decorated with a Christmas Theme and all lit up. After the palaver with the pipes I went off the idea of going - sadly David didn't come on this trip otherwise he may have jollied me along to make the effort!

While B was in Leominster this pheasant came to the door to say "hello"! and to cheer me up!






We will pay one more short visit  in December mainly to winterise it properly!  The site is closed in January and February.


10 comments:

Bovey Belle said...

I'd have jollied you along too! What a shame you missed the two things you really wanted to see. Drat those frozen pipes. Perhaps the Christmas Tree Festival will be on when you come to close it all down for winter?

Ragged Robin said...

Bovey Belle - Thanks so much. to be honest we only visited as thought less chance pipes freezing with central heating on - how wrong could we be. Panicking now about getting a visit before Christmas as I am so behind this year! I think the Bromyard tree festival only for a few days but church is usually open so trees may still be there! According to Hereford Times the Leominster tractor display was brilliant!

Rustic Pumpkin said...

What rotten luck. At least it ended well.
Very handsome visitor!
The trees are looking rather splendid indeed. I do so love trees best in Winter

Ragged Robin said...

Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much. I really was worried pipe would burst so we had to stop another night to make sure it was ok! tb that and tiredness completely ruined the visit!
At least the pheasant is safe from guns on the site! The trees do look lovely I agree especially with the winter light especially on the Constable tree :)

Rosie said...

Oh dear, such a shame about the frozen pipes but it was good that you were there to sort it out. Also a shame you didn't get to see the tractors and Christmas trees, hopefully you will find something festive to visit when you return to winterise (I like that word) until next season. Love your pheasant visitor:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie - Thanks so much. After the pipe incident I do wonder if we may close it down earlier next year! Hopefully, there will be events on or Christmassy things we can see on final visit :) The pheasant somewhat cheered me up!

CherryPie said...

The trees on 'my oak tree' are changing in the same way.

I am sorry you weren't able to visit the events that you were looking forward to.

Ragged Robin said...

CherryPie - Thank you and that is interesting to know.

Millymollymandy said...

Hi Caroline, sorry I haven’t been around in blogland, but I’m back so popping in to say hello! Sorry you had frozen pipes - that is a right palaver and a shock too. I’m glad you got them defrosted with no worse problems!

Your trees look lovely at this time of year. I hope you managed to get to see the things you had planned on.

I will have a look through some of your older posts to see what you’ve been up to! Merry Christmas! Mxx

Ragged Robin said...

Millymollymandy - Hi Mandy thanks so much and its really lovely to hear from you. Sorry if comment is late being published but with Cmas preps not been on here much atm! Yes pipes were a shock especially as we were hoping being there would prevent it not cause it!!!!
Merry Christmas to you too - have a lovely time.