A last look back at winter (I hope!)

We finally got some real spring temperatures this week. It was 16c today. But reminders of winter are everywhere still. Drifts of snow linger in the shady parts of our yard - it will take at least a week more of these temperatures before it's all gone. The grass revealed by the retreating snow is brown and squashed-looking, tree branches are bare and I have yet to see a crocus or a snowdrop anywhere!
Before winter is finally vanquished, I thought I would just post a couple of pictures taken back in January when it really was cold.
.It was -40c and a week or so after Christmas the day I went for a meal at with friends at a great little cafe in a small town just outside the city. We stopped many times on the drive out to take pictures. The colours were dramatic but it was hard to hold the camera in those temperatures. When we finally made it to our destination we were ready to warm up with steaming bowls of soup. These horses didn't seem to mind the cold but I hope someone gave them some warm mash for their supper.
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