Sue Woodcock: Life in the freezer makes the news

My local supplier who has had my order for ages, but couldn't get it to me, very kindly arranged for a farmer to deliver it by tractor and trailer. I wasn't the only one in such need but they really pulled out all the stops and consequently I have stopped deciding which bits of old furniture to burn.

It is at times like this you discover who your friends are. I have had so much help and others constantly ringing to check I am all right. I have dug out my gate several times and on the morning of the coal delivery it took me nearly two hours. This delivery coincided with the visit of the BBC, a couple of young men who had to abandon their four-wheel drive down the lane and walk with a heavy camera up to the snow. They were brilliant because they helped unload the coal. It also gave them something unusual and interesting to film. The weather had been horrid but as they arrived the blizzard stopped, the sun came out and the views were spectacular. The camera man was ecstatic and after interviews and chat he spent a while capturing the dramatic scenery with the wind blowing snow across the fields. Then one of them asked how deep the drifts were so we went to find out. The answer was deeper than we thought and not easy to extract ourselves from. The poor reporter got snow in his socks and after they had finished I think he had a chilly, moist walk down the hill.

When I could get out I collected a dog for fostering that had been abandoned. The poor bitch had obviously just weaned puppies and looked skeletal. She was terrified and had obviously been hit because she cringed and hid if you went near her.

I expect that her previous owners had sold the puppies and had no more use for her. I have had her a few days now and she has been eating for England and is well on the mend and is gentle and loving and so pleased to lie in the warm. She has even begun to play. She is no longer afraid of me and seeks cuddles and affection. Hopefully, she will learn to trust people again. She is wary of going outside in case she gets left there.

My dogs however love the snow, for a little while at least. Tara the labrador- whippet cross won't venture out without her coat. Brillo gets lost in the drifts. Ewan, Fair and Froyle roll in the snow and then melt in front of the fire. All Mary wants to do is fetch sticks. Somewhere she found a squeaky ball and in sheer self-defence I have to take it off her if I want any peace. The cats, who I have put into the front bedroom during the cold, have refused to venture outside. They sit at the window and watch the snowy world and sing lustily to be fed.

All around rabbits have been causing untold problems. Most of them seem to have moved into my barn. Friends have told me of trees killed by being stripped of bark and gardens and allotments decimated. They can't get any food at all as the grass is covered and frozen. I don't want too many rabbits but haven't the heart to kill them in this cold weather. They are pinching a bit of hay and cleaning up after I feed the birds and sheep. So too are the pheasants, who are getting bolder. It is pretty tough for wildlife at the moment, so I put a bit extra out.

A neighbour of mine has been struggling into work with great difficulty, but when it was impossible his boss told him that it was his problem and he was sacked if he didn't make it. Maybe his boss ought to see just how bad the conditions are up here.

A friend up the dale was stranded because the roads were only clear as far as Kettlewell and that is as far the bus can go. She lives a few miles on.

The media have been after stories about how we are coping with the cold. I have spoken to our local paper who made it up to my place with the help of a member of the parish council who has helped out a lot of folk. I had tried to move my car without success and was dragging diesel and dog food down my path when I was hailed by them and I accepted the offer of a lift down to the village with alacrity. I had been hoping to fetch water as my well has frozen up and I was running low. Having posed for photos, I waded through another drift looking efficient with a shovel over my shoulder (their idea, not mine) then climbed into the back of a Land Rover with my empty water containers. On our way down the hill we moved over for the post van valiantly trying to get up the lane. He didn't get very far.

As we got to the village the thaw was causing water to flow down the main road. It was snowing but not settling there and it was also snowing at my place where it had no trouble staying put. I was given a lift back, by which time the snow plough had been up the road as far as my place, and I dragged the water and shopping and diesel back to the house and got more coal in.

My animals have needed water, so I have been melting fresh snow in pans on my stove and taking it out to them. The sheep seem happy to munch the snow themselves but the birds need to drink, as do the goats who don't do munching snow. I have been surviving on hot soup, hot tea and good stodgy food to combat the cold. I take my phone with me wherever I go in case of emergencies. My house is a mess but I will clear it up when the weather improves. I do not go out unless I have to.

My milk lady has stoically delivered and then rung me to say the milk is in my postbox before it had time to freeze solid. I shall welcome a thaw whatever problems it may present. I remind myself that however tough it may be for me somewhere someone is worse off than I am.