15.1.40

Some sun today, & for a little while in the afternoon a little thaw in the sun, everywhere else freezing hard. Evidently the frost has been harder the last night or two, as indoor water pipes are frozen again. Dishes of water left in the kitchen sink now freeze almost solid. This must be the longest cold snap since 1916-17, when we had very similar weather (about end of February 1917).

9 eggs.

The rime everywhere is almost like snow. Today an egg rolled out of one of the houses & got frozen. On breaking it find that the white goes to a substance like jelly with bubbles in it & the yoke° goes to a consistency like that of stiff putty.

14.1.40

No thaw. Thickish mist. Extremely still, no sun visible but not particularly cold.

8 eggs.

13.1.40

Thawed a little in the sun in the afternoon, then freezing again.

4 eggs. Sold 1 score (presumably 3/4^d). Total this week: 39.

12.1.40

Appeared to stop freezing for about an hour in the afternoon, otherwise no thaw. Still & sunny. Poultry manure frozen hard & easy to break up, so scattered a patch with this, which can be dug in[1] later. This patch (next the unmanured patch this side of the raspberries) will do for onions.

9 eggs.

 

 

 

[1] Originally ‘broken up’. Peter Davison

11.1.40

No thaw. It would be possible to skate on the church pond, but unfortunately I have no skates here. The other ponds not bearing. Water beetles (the kind whose legs look like oars) can be seen moving about under the ice. When a brick lies in the bottom in shallow water, there appears in the ice above it a curious formation the size & shape of the brick itself, presumably something to do with the temperature of the brick when thrown in being higher than that of the water. Turned up a woodcock in the common lane. No rabbits in the field today. Birds very bold & hungry. Rooks in the vegetable garden, where they do not usually come. One or two primroses & polyanthi budding, in spite of the frost upon them. One of the elm trees apparently bleeds a brown-coloured stuff, sap or something, & large icicles of this hanging down, looking like toffee. Milk when frozen goes into a curious flaky stuff like flaky pastry.

10.1.40

Freezing very hard again. Water left outside has ice on it in only an hour or two. The pond by the church will bear my weight, but not that in the field called the Warren. The reservoir is not frozen at all. Turned up 2 rabbits in the field. They have a hole there, but whether used I am not quite certain. On the church wall found a jay & a grey squirrel, presumably shot by somebody & thrown there. Did not know the grey squirrel was found round here or that they came out of hibernation in this weather. Cut down the chrysanthemums. Made several attempts to start a bonfire, but things in frosty weather are not so dry as they look. One or two of the shallots (planted 10.11.39) beginning to show buds. One of the pullets (hatched May) has come into lay.

7 eggs.

9.1.40

Back home again after nearly a week in London. The frost has now broken but it is still cold, generally damp & misty, & there is still a good deal of ice left on the pools. W.C. has at last unfrozen but there was still ice in the cistern. Chrysanthemums have now withered back, so shall cut them down & remove those that are of bad colours. The others ought also to be removed & divided in the spring, but probably there won’t be time.

In 7 days the hens appear to have laid only 25 eggs. This is far worse than they were doing before & evidently Mrs A. has again underfed them. Mrs A. sold 1 score @ 3/4

 

[on facing page]

To even the eggs up: to end of week: 27.

New week up to & including 9.1.39: 12.

(This includes those laid before I went away + 25).

2.1.40

No thaw. Fallen ash-boughs all stripped & gnawed by rabbits. Pan of water left out all day is thickly frozen by evening.

6 eggs.

1.1.40

Freezing again last night. Today thawing in the sun but freezing in the shade. Some children able to slide on the ice of one of the ponds. They are ploughing in places, which the earth is not too hard for with a tractor plough. Frost turning into the soil said to be good for it, but snow is bad (ie. presumably bad for heavy soil). The £2 an acre subsidy for ploughing up grassland said to cover the costs of ploughing including labour. Tractor said to use about 10 galls. paraffin to plough an acre.

3 eggs!

31.12.39

Considerably warmer, & thawing this afternoon, but appears to be freezing again tonight.

5 eggs.