December sunrise

Cold, dry, and with snow and ice still making the sentiero an obstacle course.The bathroom temperature is hovering steady at 5°C.

This morning's sunrise, from Carmine Superiore.

Medieval Sunday in Italia bella

Today, Carmine looks a little as it did at Christmas in 2009...

...and the Sunday soundtrack is the music that would have been heard in the courts and cloisters of northern Italy around the time San Gottardo was built ...

A fraction below 5°C in the bathroom this morning. Cold, bright and dry. The laghetto is frozen and there are icicles forming in the streams. 

First snow 2012

One solitary degree at 8:03am. Frost in the frost pockets where the cold air tumbles down the sides of Carmine's ramparts. Ice cubes in the chickens' drinking water. And now there is a dusting of snow on the palms, and a pile of cats on Mathilda.

What's kindling in Carmine...

Cold, dry and hazy. 

The five degrees in the bathroom and the fire burning in our beloved Mathilda, has signalled the start of our Carmine winter.

Perfect kindling.

I suspect that falcetto will be in my hand rather a lot of the time in the weeks to come.

Carmine's winter flowers, No. 5

A warm and sunny day today which saw us out on the little piazza by the church, soaking up the rays. The snow on the sentiero is almost gone, and the water supply is back in action.

Another of Carmine's winter flowers - one I haven't seen before, and one I can't name. Anyone?

Survivors

After yesterday's surprising 14°C at 4pm, and last night's warm wind, we woke to 6° at 8am and no water anywhere in the house. 

This morning, there was no husband, no water, a fox at the chicken coop, a dog with self-inflicted diarrhoea, two children bent on killing one another with my boot trees, and a mobile phone that had given up the ghost. Despite this, we did manage to get to school within two minutes of the bell, and in pretty good order. 

On the way home to wait for my heroes from Sicea, the water company, I snapped this little survivor of the snow, and hope that I will come out of this blooming as well.

Scilla, Carmine Superiore, February 2012

Carmine's winter flowers, No. 3

Minus six at dawn this morning with snow frosty and sparkling on the ground and the roofs. No water in half the house and in the side of the house where there is water, the boiler has gone into hibernation. Ho-hum.

Here's another lovely winter flower to keep our spirits up.

Still snowing in Carmine

Minus one degree at 8.30am as I inched cautiously through Cannobio's old town in my snow-encrusted Fiat. About 20cm of snow on the ground, and still snowing. 

Snow on camelia,

Carmine Superiore, February 2012

Snowing in Carmine

The view from my study window.

Carmine Superiore, today.

Carmine's winter flowers, No. 2

A barely pink rose.

Carmine Superiore, January 2012.

Carmine's winter flowers, No.1

Another bright day, and still no rain. But with a cold wind that chills right up to the knuckles.

Bucaneve in Franco's orchard.

Carmine Superiore, today.

Silence, solitude and a bite on the line

Continuing what has been a surreal winter with warm weather and bright sunshine. No rain to speak of, and no snow this side of the Alps. 

Early morning, Lago Maggiore

Winter 2011-2012

Solstice sunrise

Lago Maggiore

December 2011

Sasso Carmine

Carmine Superiore from the south,
with Lago Maggiore and the Swiss Alps.

Winter, 2011.

Ash Wednesday

Low cloud creates a sky of ash and pearl.

The view from Carmine Superiore, winter 2011.

Sunlight on water

Sparkling reflections, Cannobino river.

Cannobio, winter 2011

Winter colour

Eat me! Eat me!

Winter berries on a bare tree.

Cannobio, 2011

Sunrise with ruin

The view from Palazzo Pollo, early one February morning, 2011.

Serenity

Morning mist over Lago Maggiore

February, 2011.