Sue Woodcock: Coping with a new ice age...

Surviving a blizzard and snowflakes the size of half crowns, I arrived far too early and had time to look round.

The college I went to was much smaller and much more basic. The students here are so lucky. The group were all connected with the college in some way and we had a Christmas dinner (my first of this year) which was very good.

I have a good four wheel drive and good tyres but still took it very steadily on the way back. I was passed by several drivers obviously in search of an accident.

Next morning I had to be up early to take a new dog to the vet to get him neutered. He is a rescue and the dog I have always dreamed of owning, a red and white border collie named Mac.

I call him McWoof. He is 15 months old and couldn't get on or work with his previous owner. He had lived on a chain in a barn. He immediately realised that I would care for him and has been adjusting ever since.

He is very excited and full of energy and has fallen passionately in love with the puppy Boo and they play together constantly.

I am convinced that Mac in a former life was an interior designer or furniture remover. He is big, strong, and obviously considered that the house needs re-arranging and my knitting wool needs to be unravelled.

Watching him running free in the field gives me such pleasure because he is enjoying his new life so much. He has the instinct to work sheep and a great deal of enthusiasm for it, but needs controlling and a lot of training. If I shout at him he cringes fearing he has done something wrong but is starting to realise he will come to no harm.

He has had great fun disassembling some toys with Boo and I have to dispose of lumps of stuffing strewn around the house on an hourly basis. I don't think he has had many toys before. He is however a very loving dog and now asks for cuddles and attention.

On the Friday I went with several friends to the knitting and stitching show at Harrogate. The weather was bitterly cold but we got there in good time and I had a fascinating morning looking at all the displays there. It is my idea of a real treat out.

I bought some things I needed, some things I fancied, and had a good meal at the caf. Then there was a glorious winter's day with a sprinkling of snow and lovely winter sunshine.

The views on such days are heavenly. I had ensured that I had sufficient food for me and the animals and enough coal to last me ages. Having stored all this securely I went to church and then spent Sunday tidying up the yard and checking the sheep. Having written the quiz for the evening, I looked out of the window to see a blizzard and about six inches of snow. I rang the pub and had the evening in. I had intended to get in a good supply of diesel for the generator – that and a large quantity of chocolate are all I really need to be well equipped for a snowed-in week or so.

I can look forward to a few days of peace and quiet, at least until the first Dickensian Saturday when I shall be down on a stall in the village. I can concentrate on interior tasks which are well overdue.

I prefer the snow on a Christmas card but I have to admit that the world at the moment is pure and glistening in the sunlight and even when the air is cold and taking my breath away I would rather be here than stuck in the city.

In an Ilkley music shop I found a collection of beautiful carols. Christmas is not far away and carols seem to be all I am singing at the moment.

I am already fed up with the adverts on the telly. A friend of mine has just given birth to her first child, a little girl called Morgan. She is coping and it should be a wonderful Christmas for them. After all it is all about the birth of a baby 2,000 years ago.

We are now in Advent and my turkeys are looking distinctly worried, but they are safe. The geese seem pretty edgy too, they are my pets so I shall keep them for breeding. At night they head into the nice warm shippon with lots of clean straw and hay and snuggle up to the goats. One of my chickens, a small black one, has taken to perching on the back of the black nanny goat and pecking off any stray corn. Then it rides round on the goat who doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. There is family of wrens in the feed store and I always put a bit of food out for them. The jackdaws are aware of this so they get some too.

I break the ice on the water troughs for all the creatures every morning. It does keep me fit. I shall take the advice of the wise and only venture out when I have to. Lots of friends have rung to check I am all right. Most of them have more snow than I do. Now I must tidy up as the dogs have been rearranging my house again, chewing the logs for the fire – and my knitting has disappeared completely!