Almost as quickly as it came the snow is going. Everywhere looks ugly, streaked and muddy. Dirty piles of snow lie at the side of the road and on the field edges. It rained very heavily on top of the melting snow so we are awash with mud again. It has been quite frosty overnight making the lanes here and the pavements in town treacherous, but the clear frosty air has given us some glorious sunrises and sunsets. I have tried to capture it quickly here from memory as the colours and contrasts are gone too quickly to paint as it happens. And my old camera certainly isn’t good enough to catch the colours.
The breath of air had died of cold,
When shoeing home across the white,
I thought I saw a bird alight.In summer when I passed the place
I had to stop and lift my face;
A bird with an angelic gift
Was singing in it sweet and swift.
No bird was singing in it now.
A single leaf was on a bough,
And that was all there was to see
In going twice around the tree.
From my advantage on a hill
I judged that such a crystal chill
Was only adding frost to snow
As gilt to gold that wouldn’t show.
A brush had left a crooked stroke
Of what was either cloud or smoke
From north to south across the blue;
A piercing little star was through.
Illustrated Country Diary 
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