Morning all froglettes,

I know it may be almost two weeks since the New Year started but for a frog it is never too late to say ‘Happy New Year’.

Well, Herring Gull Harry, Teacup and I had frogtastic New Year’s Eve.  We stayed in a cabin by the river and thought that we would do some fishing – it is never to cold for a spot of fishing – but it seemed that the weather had other ideas.

We spent the first day fishing and to start with it was a mild, winter’s day.  So far, so good.  And then a breeze got up.  Nothing serious, we carried on fishing but then the ripples on the river got bigger and more frequent as the wind got stronger.  By lunchtime we found ourselves fishing in a gale.

And then it started to rain.  Not light rain, oh no, this was heavy, cold rain that made you went within a few moments and the stronger the wind, the more it rained on us.

Still, we carried on fishing.  We were doing well at catching our supper.

And then as the sun started to go down, it seemed to get colder.  Still we continued fishing.  And colder.  I put on my red scarf for warmth and Herring Gull Harry put on his furry hat that all but hides his face.  It was a Christmas present from his Aunt Millicent.  Maybe a size too big methinks but Herring Gull Harry seems to like it.

But, then I spotted a snowflake, and then another one and another one.  So did Herring Gull Harry.  Suddenly, there were snowflakes all around us.

We stopped fishing at this point and went back to our cabin.  We spent the evening cooking our fish over the fire and ate it with some fried worms and then played Raindrop Racing until the magic moment arrived and it was time for the new year.  We toasted it with some willow juice and talked excitedly about our plans for the new year.

Then, in the morning we woke up and drew back the curtain to see a landscape covered in brilliant, white, dazzling snow.  It was so beautiful, froglettes, that we spent the morning skating on the frozen river and then made two sleighs out of some sacks that we found and spent the afternoon racing each other up and down the hill.

The following day, the last day of our holiday, we woke up and saw that the snow had disappeared.  There were just small pockets of snow underneath the hedges and that was it to remind us of our holiday.  It had turned into a magical memory.

Oh well, it’s back to reality, froglettes – and yet more fishing on the river.

E

 

 

 

 

And then the wind got upNow that we are a few weeks into the new year, the days are getting longer and winter is starting to come towards its end – hurray. The snow finally disappeared and I am glad to say the rain returned. As you know, froglettes, I am very fond of a few spots of rain and there have been plenty of those over the last few weeks and some storms too. Last week, one storm had some very strong winds and caused a lot of damage on the river with trees coming crashing down and the river flooding over the banks so there was even more water for frogs to play about in.

I went out fishing on the morning of this storm and while I was on the river the gusts of wind got stronger and stronger so by the time I returned to the harbour and tied my coracle to its post, the gusts made it very difficult for me to stand on one spot for long.

Anyway, I eventually succeeded and went home and thought no more about it. So, froglettes, imagine my surprise the next day when I returned to the harbour to find my coracle the other side of the river to where I had left it.

Well, I dived in the water and swam to the other side to see that one side of my coracle had been damaged where it collided with the bank. Teacup (who knows everything there is to know) has a friend who repairs coracles. This morning, he came and fixed the damage so I could row my coracle out into the river and do some fishing before returning home to eat my lunch.

E