Walking in the snow

Deepest fall since 64

Higher than the road signs

Higher than the walls

Drifts like frozen waves

Drifts we walked Alpine style

Wind sculpted patterns and shapes

Angels against gravity

Silhouetted against the cobalt sky

Bright enough to sear the retina

Meadows blown clear of snow

Grass stalks desiccated and wan

Contrast with drifts as high as a house

Sheep holed up behind dry-stone walls

Hot panting breath steaming

from holes like vents in a pie dish

In another field Polish Pigs with long curly hair

Oblivious to the cold kick steps in frozen mud

Grubbing for edible roots

A local shepherd carries fodder on his quad-bike

Riding the snow waves like a surfer

Not at all like a normal April in Stainland