A crunchy walk.

Yesterday saw us up and out early. We had places to go. We aren't normally out of the house by 7.30am on a Sunday - we are rarely out of bed by 7.30am on a Sunday - but this week, we had places to go.

I had allowed extra time to defrost the car. We needed it. Never have I been so glad the jag has heated seats - boy, it was cold yesterday.

As we finally drove off the drive, the car still steaming as the heated front screen, heated wing mirrors and heated rear screen all worked overtime in keeping the ice at bay, I looked at the temperature reading on the dashboard.

-13c

Yes, that's MINUS 13!

Boy, that's cold.

By the time we returned from our trip out, it had risen to -3. The sun was out, and nothing was melting. We decided we would wrap up warm and see if the dogs wanted to go for a walk through the fields. I'm not sure whether they feel the cold but they never show it, if they do.

So, gloves on, hats on, boots on - we set off on our long weekend-walk circuit. Through the estate to the park where the dogs ran like crazies through the snow, noses pushing down into it to get to the latest smells. 

Along the lane past the Rugby Club and round the back onto the playing field - again, the dogs ran like crazies through the snow. They just love it. We met several other dog owners wrapped up like Scott of the Antartic. All the dogs seemed to enjoy the snow. They were all running like crazies.

Up onto the banks of the canal, and suddenly it was so quiet - apart from the crunch. We were the only ones walking along the canal. For once, there were no fishermen there. I remembered I had seen a car leaving the space where the fishermen usually park as we had approached the canal. It was unusual for there to be no-one fishing at all. It was cold, but it was bright and sunny, the sky was clear and normally this attracts a couple of the hardier fishermen.

But there would be no fishing today. The canal was frozen over. Pieces of wood and branches had been thrown onto the canal by earlier walkers, testing how thick the ice was. Thick enough for the wood to sit on top of. Whether this was fishermen trying to break through to make their trip out on such a cold day worthwhile, or kids messing about, who knows - but the fish were staying well underground today.

There were signed of breaks in the ices, which had re-frozen, signs that a narrow boat had been along there earlier.

But as we walked along, there was no-one. No birds, no boats, no-one. Just us. And it was great. The only sound we could hear was the crunch of our boots through the frozen snow that fell yesterday.

The dogs dashed along the path, into the hedges and along the edge of the canal.  I prayed that they didn't get too close to the edge. Although the canal was frozen over, I was sure it wouldn't hold their weight if they slipped over the edge. Brinkley came close a couple of times, but managed to stay ashore.

Eventually we came to our path that led away from the canal and back to civilisation. Cars, people, birds, noise all gradually became part of our walk again. The peace of the canal left behind. A mug of hot soup waiting for us back at home. And brandy and brinkley asleep on the sofa, shattered after running like crazies for so long.

Happy Sunday!