I feel sorry for Candi

It snowed constantly - admittedly, a thin, wet snow - from Thursday night to last night, Sunday, but this morning it has stopped, it's just icy.

It's possible to gauge the amount of snow we've had since Friday morning by the covering of the large puddle in front of the garage, in the Sunday morning picture below right it can just be seen as a little dark dot.

Underneath all that snow is still the wet and mud from earlier last week, we had to be very careful how we step in our wellies, I've slipped many times and in some drifts the snow comes over the top of the boots.  But when we see the pictures on television of conditions further north with cars totally buried and even rescue trucks turned over we have nothing to complain about really.

We're leaving the ducks in their huts a little longer this morning, the icy covering will it make it more difficult for them than the snow.

On Saturday night Anke decided to go into the duck shed [which accounts for the EIGHT eggs I got out of there yesterday where there are normally only 7 ducks], and Captain and Candi were on their own in the bottom hut.  These two struggled up through the snow to join with the rest, and I had to laugh seeing Anke go round the corner of the garage on her way to the bottom hut suddenly dipping her head and neck vigorously "your obedient servant" style - she had met Captain on his way up and was obviously begging his pardon for straying overnight!

Candi is having a tough time.  She is so desperate to join the others near the house where the other two huts are that she gets chased and raped many times - and her drake Captain doesn't protect her, he mounts her to reassert his authority when the other three have done.

The three from the bottom hut are obviously considered "outsiders" and the drakes from the top think the girls there are 'fair game' - last year they continuously breached all the netting and defences I'd put up to get to the girls down there.  Candi cops it more than Anke for some reason, and she's very aware of it and lingers on the perimeter, in the first two photos below she still has Anke and Captain with her:

The pheasants still gather first thing in the morning, desperate to find leftover food and then hang around under bushes until the ducks get their grains.

It's been looking very pretty in places with all these snow sculptures, but can we have winter finish now, please?