The UK has been gripped by an arctic blast for several days with temperatures plummeting well below freezing. I’m reading reports of temperatures dipping as low as -15C last night in Scotland. Yikes! Thankfully it’s not as cold as that in my region of SE England but it’s still bitterly cold.
A light dusting of snow fell overnight so I decided to take a walk down to the allotments to take some ‘snow snaps’ for the blog, but before I set off I had a quick look at the monthly village newsletter which arrived this morning. The first thing I do is look for the article about our allotments which the tenants take turns to write with something additional from our site manager – usually words of wisdom or a few grumbles in general about the growing year/weather, that sort of thing and it seems I’m not the only one to be having problems with voles. After fuelling myself with a hot mug of tea I set off for the allotments and spotted the site manager when I arrived at the gate. We had a quick chat and I mentioned siting an owl box on one of the tall trees in an attempt help with our vole problem, he thought it was a great idea (thank you for the idea M. Agriculteur) and we agreed on having a go at making one ourselves so a bit more research will be done on this in the new year.
Speaking of birds, in the garden at home I am helping them and other wildlife as much as possible by topping up feeders and dotting additional food stations about. Shallow water dishes are freezing over quickly and need refreshing often but it’s a job worth doing.
I hope you’re keeping warm and safe everyone! Many thanks for the well wishes on my previous post, it has certainly been a tough year for sure and I won’t be sorry to see the back of 2022.
Allotment Haven 
☺️Great news! Good luck with the owl project! This is the version I have partially constructed. Your hole requirements for European owls are smaller however (Optimum size 130 x 130mm; minimum 100 x 100mm; maximum 150 x 150mm) as Americans seem to have bigger bottoms 😆. The PDF is chock full of information and I must say I am sorely tempted to install a nest cam. Be sure to grab the pellets they drop and dry them out. I’ve offered a dozen to a friend for a school project.
Click to access BuildingBarnOwlBoxes.pdf
Lovely snaps!
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Ahh that’s great! Thanks so much for the information, it will come in handy I’m sure!
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Beautiful pics! It’s certainly pretty frozen out there! I think the warmer weather turns up at the weekend – maybe by then it will be spring?!? xx
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Wouldn’t that be nice! xx
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Lovely wintry post and pictures.
Well done on venturing out to your plots, I’ve not been out since Friday.
Take care and keep warm. xx
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Thank you Flighty, you too! xx
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Your wintery photos are mesmerizing! Stay warm ~
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Thanks so much! Fingers crossed the weekend brings warmer temperatures 🙂
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How exciting to have an owl box – I hope that you have occupancy. No snow here just frost and ice. It seems the snow has been south and north of us.
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It would be amazing! The temperature today went above freezing with rain for most of the afternoon. The snow and ice is melting away.
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These are beautiful photos of the icy winter allotment! Please forgive the late comment… I’m catching up with some posts of my favorite gardeners! I’m eager to see if an owl box gets installed and is helpful. That’s a darling garden shed! I wish the U.S. gardens here had as much charm as yours in U.K.
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Thanks so much, I do love my little allotment sheds!
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