31 December, 2009
This is the scene that’s been greeting us most mornings over the past fortnight. Every day we clear paths through the snow to the roads, to the byre, to the wood store, to the chicken houses and runs, and to the pig enclosures. Every day, we carry out bucket after bucket of fresh water, buckets of warm feed, and armfuls of fresh straw to the animals. Every day, we chip ice, thaw pipes, clear foraging areas, remove muck and maintain anything that’s been impaired by snow or ice. Then, most nights, we get another light to moderate snow shower and we repeat it all over again. Winter can be fairly strenuous on the croft.
I have to admit I have just about enough it now too, and yet still more weather warnings are being issued for Scotland…I note the BBC weather on the TV brushes swiftly over the Scottish weather warnings and beefs up the Northern England weather warnings!
Looks a lot like home! Our Christmas snow of 18 inches is going to be here for a long time. Today the temps started out at -31 C which is too cold even for us. I’m glad I don’t have any outdoor animals to care for right now.
We’ve had ice or heavy frost most mornings but nothing like what you’ve faced… And more to the point you’ve had to work every day…sincere respect mate…
Wow, it never ceases to amaze me what you guys in colder climates must go through all Winter! We’re fortunate to live in a very mild area – Summer temps in the high 20s/low 30s C, with occasional 40s, and Winter temps that stay above 0. We never get snow or ice, and can grow stuff throughout the year. Then again, we don’t get enough chill for the colder fruits like most apples.
You learn to live on cabbage, kale, potatoes, neeps (swedes), turnips and oatmeal.
(Only half joking!)
The snow would not be so bad if the council actually was doing it’s job by clearing the roads!
Usually you see the gritters and snow ploughs out in force during the winter months but this year they are rarer than the dodo and with remarks like this said from a Perth and Kinross council officer
“He told me that I live in Scotland and it’s winter so I should get used to it”
to those who complain it’s no wonder people are angry here.
Well, there’s been a decent amount of snow, a long spell of sub-zero days, and there are a lot of roads to keep clear. Winter also came earlier and harder this time around, so councils were caught out to a certain extent as heavy, sustained snowfalls are more usual in January and February than December.
And while almost everyone is demanding all roads and pavements are kept clear at all times, they also want to pay less council tax and they want councils to spend more on many other areas. It’s not possible to square that circle.
Personally, I’ve been quite happy with the ploughing and gritting service provided by Aberdeenshire Council.
The more “major” of the two minor roads that pass our croft has been ploughed at least once a day, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, and gritted most days. The other road has been ploughed less frequently—mainly by farmers using their tractors with ploughs—and barely been gritted but it’s been passable in a 4wd or a tractor at all times.
I don’t even expect that level of service so I’m happy, especially as it’s a noticeable improvement on previous years.
I also think many people could do more to help themselves and each other—although that’s a bit old-fashioned.
Cold weather tyres make a big difference when driving on cold, wet or icy roads—and no, I’m not talking about snow tyres.
People could clear the pavement in front of their houses—as some of the older people in the village still do—instead of expecting the council to do it constantly. And it doesn’t take much effort for most of us to clear small patches of road that the plough has missed—we often clear enough of our junction to enable cars to get around it . (Although people tell us it’s the council’s job to do this.)
People could do errands for those who find it genuinely difficult to to get around or just because it’s neighbourly. (If we go to the shops, we ask the farmer across the road and our new neighbours a mile away if they need anything. The farmer does the same.)
A bit of self-reliance and neighbourliness goes a long way, but few people seem to be bothered.
It’s Perth & Kinross council that have not cleared the roads, any road!
The main A90 had been ploughed but into the slip roads so that meant getting on and off the A90 became extremely dangerous and you had to stop dead on the dual carriage way and hope that the traffic travelling at speeds of 70 mph saw you.
The centre of Perth was treacherous both on the roads and the pavements and nothing had been cleared or gritted.
People aren’t just complaining because their little track had not been cleared or the pavements hadn’t been cleared but because the main roads hadn’t even been done and even roads to hospitals and doctors were impassable. But when they do complain they are meet with a very unprofessional response.
So no it’s not just a case of folk demanding more for less but actually wanting main roads cleared more than once a week when it has been snowing practically every day for 2 weeks!