For Now at least the ''Big Freeze is over, the thaw began on Sunday and today there is very little ice or snow left on the ground. 
It remains bitterly cold with wind that cuts through you, but the ground is free from ice and the risk of falling and slipping greatly reduced. 
The best part about the sub zero conditions was the utter beauty of it all. 
Not sure why but the late afternoon sky was pretty spectacular at times. 
There were other times when I could see almost nothing from my window due to the blizzards raging outside. From indoors it all looked very pretty though. 
Even the garden looked quite nice with its winter coat on. 
The sadness though is that ALL the fish I put in my pond last year died. Today I have the horrible job of getting them out of the water, yesterday I could see them floating under the surface of what was left of the ice, today the ice will be gone and I'll have to get them out. I won't be replacing them, I feel so guilty about putting them in there. My little pond is obviously not deep enough to withstand such awful winters and if it can happen once it could happen again. Next year I'll find frog spawn and toad spawn and leave it a as wild life pond. At least the amphibians won't stay in the water and freeze next year.
