Cold Weather

There is something special about this bitterly cold spell; it is the sort of winter that creates lifelong memories in the minds of children. Those of us of a certain age remember the great freeze of 1963, when the rivers froze over and ponds and lakes became skating rinks. Toboggans came out (how many own one today?), mass snowball fights replaced football on the school timetable until the snow became dangerously icy, spades were issued instead and we were sent to chip ice off roads and pavements. A colleague at work was recalling today how her father walked across the frozen surface of Lough Derg, and sea ice formed off the coast of Donegal. We have not quite reached those temperatures yet, but there is still plenty of time for snow to fall.



Here at Cabragh the ponds are covered in ice, and the ducks are very grateful for any food put out for them. If they can keep their feathers clean, healthy birds will cope well with these low temperatures. Have you noticed how large many of them seem at the moment? Their puffed-up feathers provide wonderful layers of insulation. Please do your best to keep feeding the birds – you will be rewarded with great entertainment around your bird table if the supply is regular and reliable.



Are your New Year resolutions still intact? We all have good intentions, but it is so easy to lapse. May we with humility suggest a few late but easily-kept resolutions for 2010?



1. Use the car less. See if you can phase out a few unnecessary car-miles by car-pooling to work or on the school run. Walk and cycle more.

2. Think about how you can save energy at home, perhaps by turning down the heating a degree or two and wearing an extra layer of clothing, insulating the loft more effectively, phasing out non-essential power-guzzling appliances.

3. Find out about alternative ways of heating and powering your home. Start yourself thinking about how best to replace your heating system with something more sustainable. What you have will not last for ever, and fossil-fuel systems will be very expensive in a few years.

4. Recycle more, and compost your organic waste. If you have young children, get them to take responsibility for some element of your environmental management.

5. Grow more food for your family. Pots and growbags will do the job if you lack garden space.

6. Look at your property and see what you can do to encourage wildlife and biodiversity. Certainly reduce chemical usage, (the frost will have killed off large numbers of slugs, so they will be less of a problem in 2010), and leave a few untidy areas - some rotting logs and a nettle patch would be ideal. Ask about which plants will attract friendly insects and birds.





If we all make small changes in our habits and lifestyles, and educate ourselves to think differently about the environment, it will make a difference to the future of the Earth.