And the cold snap continues...

For the first time in my life I have experienced a 'White Christmas'. Sub-zero temperatures, heavy snowfalls and icy conditions persisting over the holiday period. It's so bad that I couldn't get my car out from where I live and had to get home to my parent's house by public transport.

Apparently a that is coming later today. Anyway here are a few shots...



An icicle hanging from the garden shed.



Snow down to the high water mark on Portmarnock beach.



Ice formations on the beach. I've never seen this before!

Still winter...

I'm starting to wonder if this is the beginning of the next ice age. Since I've been living in my current home (a little over two years) this is the third heavy snowfall that we've had.

It looks nice...but we really aren't able to cope with it at all. We need to learn!

Winter...

An early 'big freeze' in Ireland! Normally it doesn't get this cold in November/December...



That was taken on Monday, it has continued snowing while temperatures have dropped. Great fun on the roads! We just aren't prepared for this kind of thing despite the fact that it's the third big snowfall in the space of 2 years...

Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

So we got another snowfall in Ireland this winter. Normally we get a little bit of snow every year, the kind of snow that disappears after a few hours, but for the second time in 12 months we got a big fall. And this time, because it has been so cold for the last few weeks, it stuck around.

The photo here was taken close to where I live on saturday January 9th. But we actually had our initial snowfall on New Years Eve and then some more, bigger snowfalls over the course of the following week or so.

It does look pretty but we really are not prpepared for this kind of thing and it ends up causing all kinds of problems, from burst pipes & water shortages to sever traffic jams.

Anyway, it's nearly all gone now!

Glendalough

Glendalough
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Back to Glendalough - with the snow we had recently I didn't want to miss out on the chance of shooting here while it still had a covering of the white stuff.

I had considered going up there on the previous weekend but the snow was still quite heavy & the roads around that part of Wicklow were supposedly difficult to negotiate.

This is a merge of two images, both taken at 28mm. It's cropped at a 17 X 6 ratio.

Still there...

Still there
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Fifth day of snow & I don't think it'll melt tomorrow... :)

At least the roads are clearer now, if somewhat icy.

Still Snowing

Still Snowing
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

The view from my window the other night. We don't get much snow in Ireland, when we do get a big fall it often results in transport chaos as all the roads shut down. It's not as bad where I grew up, as that is at sea-level, but up here in the hills we got a nice covering of the white stuff.