It takes more that a covering of snow to put off a Chaffinch from surveying his realm.
At one stage I wondered what kept blocking the view from one of my cameras.
A short while ago Adrian (Adrian's Images) had mentioned, and shown a photo of, some instep spikes he had bought to aid walking on snow and ice. They looked ideal to me for dog walking around a village where ice and snow is never cleared from the pavements. I had a good look around the internet but couldn't find any like that so ended up with these walking spikes which fit to shoes or boots. They are called 'Get-a-Grip'
When they arrived I thought to myself how could such short, blunt spikes help to walk on ice. I fitted them to an old pair of shoes and waited for the bad weather to return. This morning they were given a good testing on our early morning walkies. Result - perfect traction. Those short lengths of tungsten carbide crunch straight in the ice and there is no possibility of slipping and sliding. The sensation is a bit peculiar when walking over the occasional clear stretch of pavement as there are only six small pieces of metal in contact with the ground but anything is good which makes walking safer in the present weather conditions.
A couple of nights ago the crescent Moon was clearly visible so I had another go at photographing it. Two different exposures here. I can either get a clear view of the craters at the edge of the shadow but overexpose the rest or underexpose somewhat and see the other features more clearly.
The temperature is steadily rising this morning so I hope it will be reasonable later as I need to collect an item from the local Argos store which I had ordered and will be sent back if I don't go today.
Lovely to see all the Goldfinches with their colour coordinated feeder ;), there haven't been so many in my garden lately either.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased you managed to find something to make your walks in the snow and ice more safe and I'm sure Bobby will benefit too :)
We had more snow overnight but not much more than a dusting which has pretty well gone now, not sure that is the last of it though!
Great Moon shots John.
They look a lot smarter than mine. the moon is ok when full but I have to blend exposures for anything else. It's a problem with digital, film wasn't much better.
ReplyDeleteThink I'll invest in some of those ice grippers John. They look just the job for this weather.
ReplyDeleteHello Jan. I was nice to see a few more Goldies. I was beginning to wonder where they had all gone.
ReplyDeleteAt last I don't get up worrying what the temperature is like outside first thing. Bobby can buy his own! ;)
It nearly reached 4C today and that was enough to melt most of the snow so a trip into town was possible.
Hello Adrian. I don't know about smarter - definitely more expensive!
ReplyDeleteThose Moon shots were hand held. I must use a tripod next time and take a series and try blending them.
Hello Keith. I was very sceptical when I bought them but they worked a treat once I got used to the 'feel' of them. I found those through one of the companies which list their stuff on Amazon (SkiWeb) They also have their own web site.
ReplyDeleteWeather conditions have turned white for you again and all I've got is rain, rain and more rain!! With those grippers you could enter the Olympics. Stay safe. FAB.
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence! last week in Tromso I saw lots of people putting these on the bottom of ordinary shoes to do their shopping on the ice covered high street! Everyone has them up there ..except me who fell over 3 times in 3 days!
ReplyDeleteThe Winter Olympics, Frank? Forecast seems to say more snow tonight. Rain would make a nice change here.
ReplyDeleteHello Matron. I don't fancy the idea of falling over - I don't bounce as well as I used to ;)
ReplyDeleteThings like chains for cars and grips for shoes are probably part of life in northern climates where snow and ice arrives and stays for long periods.