Our mini heatwave came to an end just after Easter and the snow and hail began in showers. We awoke to find tiny ice balls in the primulas. The hollyhocks, aquilegi, lupins and cottage garden seedlings weathered it well. But seeing snow covered hills behind blooming daffodils is tough to reconcile.
A few years ago, a children’s book called Snow Summer was published by local author Kit Peel. Part fairytale, part warning it describes a Nidderdale touched by meteorological disaster. The characters walk through our meadow in one of the first chapters. Weather like this puts us in mind of their shadows.
