Thanks Ger! Is spring happening yet in Ireland? It is finally here in New England, for which I am very grateful. Have gotten lots of gardening done this week in the warmer, sunnier weather. What part of Ireland do you live in? I have been in the Ring of Kerry area and down to Kinsale. Lynn

Lynn,
I wrote a big long post and lost it - aarrgghhhh
I live outside a little village called Murroe, in County Limerick. Its beautiful here and I always tell my kids that even if I won the lottery I wouldn't live anywhere else. Weeelll, maybe about a mile up the road in a big house with big windows showing off the spectacular views we have - and of course lots of servants.

Spring has come, and gone, and come again here. It has been really strange - our daffodils and snowdrops blossomed extremely early, as we had a very mild winter, but now there is some hard ground frost, and I am very cautious about planting any of my annual colour lobelia just yet, maybe next week.

I have attached 2 photos that I took from my front door Christmas 2010. I must take some pictures when my flowers are in bloom, and also some photos of my local area and post them. I'm very proud of where I live and so forgive me for boasting.
Ger x

That frost was pretty impressive! Beautiful photos. Ireland is a very beautiful country. So many places we saw there, especially in the mountains reminded me a lot of where I live in the northeast part of the US. (except for the cairns, castles, beehive houses and other ancient buildings, which were all spectacular!) Hope it warms up for you soon. Lynn

wow , amazing pictures. I have never seen frost like that before !

Wow, all these gorgeous pictures! Spring hasn't quite sprung here, yet. I'll post a picture when it does.

That is what we call "hoar frost" here when it happens. There has to be a lot of humidity in the air, no wind, then a sudden drop in temp. below freezing. It is one of nature's most beautiful, fleeting phenomena. We see this maybe every few years and it is truly awesome when it happens.
Ger - since you are in a much damper climate, do you get this type of frost frequently in the winter?

Yes, Lynn, we get this quite a lot. I know it looks beautiful, but I hate driving in these conditions. I have had several near misses, and have been spinning out of control on black ice, even though I was driving very slowly.

Yes, this is often when black ice occurs too, and it is so dangerous. Have had a few run-ins with black ice myself! Be careful and just drive much more slowly than usual and hope that everyone else does the same.