Snow & Straw at Spithandle Nursery

The trip down Spithandle Lane to Spithandle Nursery was alarming this year. Snow had hit, and ice had formed on the lane itself. I skidded. Briefly the thought “oh no, I can't wreck the new car after less than a year” flashed across your brain, as the car glided, out of control, towards the trees.

Luckily, an upbringing in Scotland had prepared me for this. Black ice on the roads up there is something you get used to pretty quickly, and I was able to steer into the skid and regain control quickly. Nerve-wracking for the family, but fine. Rather more cautiously, I got us the rest of the way to a very festive looking Spithandle:

OK, OK, it's not deep snow, certainly not of the sort I routinely had as a child in Scotland. But it was still distinctly magical for the girls to be hunting for our choice of Christmas tree amongst it. They're Sussex born and bred; snow has not been a big factor in their lives. We picked a tree, and got digging. That helped warm us up, but by the time it was up, we were all feeling the cold.

And, of course, the cold made the retreat into the barn for hot chocolate and snacks all the more enjoyable. The woodburner was a luxurious treat, as I warmed my hands on a black coffee, and the girls filled themselves with sugar through big mugs of hot chocolate. If only there was some way they could burn off the energy afterwards…

So, why did I title this post “Snow & Straw”? I'm glad you asked. There might have been a paucity of ponies this year, but there was plenty of straw, and the girls found plenty to do with it…

Once the girls had had a bale-full rampage across the straw, we headed off. The sun was fading fast, the temperature dropping, and Spithandle Lane was only going to get more treacherous.

Still, it was lovely to finally see Spithandle in the snow…