Adventures in the Snow: Daffodils, Waterfowl, an Angry (but Adorable) Cat and Brendan Behan

I didn't think Dublin would get any more snow this year after our highly dramatic Beast From the East visitation a few weeks ago. Yesterday, however – on March the 18th – we were blanketed by a fresh sheet of flakes. My lovely girlfriend @charlottefawsitt and I decided to go out and wander through my local area, to enjoy it while it lasted. Ireland hardly ever receives a significant amount of snow – the last time anything like this happened was in 2010 – but apparently, snow in Dublin during the month of March is a regular thing now. 🤔 That's climate change for you! I love seeing a sheet of pure, pristine freshly fallen snow, though. There is something truly magical about it.

With our clocks set to go forward by one hour the weekend after next, we are set to receive even more evening light soon, and I can hardly wait. 😊 Most people don't enjoy the approach of winter (I do know a few who prefer winter to summer, but it seems to be a rare preference). Over the years, however, I've noticed that I seem to really dread the arrival of colder weather and longer nights, to the extent that I'm even more deeply impacted by it than most people I know. I've never received a formal diagnosis of Seasonal Affective Disorder – largely because I hate going to the doctor for any reason, and the low feelings I experience in winter have never seemed severe enough for me to seek medical assistance with them – but my mood noticeably dips in late September, when condensation begins to appear on my window each morning and the temperature goes through a sudden, tangible drop.

I eagerly await the arrival of March each year, because I know that I can always look forward to an upturn in my mood when it comes along, bringing brighter days, daffodils, and – at the very end of the month – my absolute favourite aspect of it: an extra hour of daylight! 😍

I didn't mind the snow too much yesterday, because I appreciated the fact that there would be plenty of time to explore it fully, and it wouldn't get dark at 4 p.m. (which would have happened had the snow visited us a few months earlier).

Our snow walk included wandering in the direction of the National Botanic Gardens, hoping that they would be open. Alas, they were not, and I had to take this picture through the locked gates...

I also managed to get this picture of the rose garden. In summer, this garden is a riot of life, colour and activity, but it currently lies cold, still and silent.

Along the way, we met this adorable white cat who almost blended into the snowy background when we first saw her. 😂 The kitty was initially very happy when my girlfriend began to pet her, but reacted with great anger when she tried to stroke her tail!

We also walked along the banks of the Royal Canal (the lyrics of The Auld Triangle instantly jumped into my head as I typed that sentence 😂).

There is a statue of the famous Irish writer Brendan Behan on the Dorset Street end of the canal walk.

Some thoughtful person had been kind enough to drape a towel over him, in case he was feeling the cold. 😛

Plenty of waterfowl were around, seemingly unfazed by the snow and ice.

One swan or duck had left some amazingly clear tracks in the snow, and we enjoyed following them for a while to see where the bird's journey had taken them.

Several of the canal locks had icicles hanging from them.

Unlike the prolonged visit of the Beast From the East earlier this month – which plunged Ireland into a state of shutdown that lasted for several days – yesterday's cold snap was short-lived. When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining brightly, the skies were clear, and the air was warm – my kind of weather! 😍☀️