These boots were made for walking.

My boots, my relegated walking boots, may have been made for walking but they, and little else in footwear, do not do very well on ice. Frolicking in fields of ice has been fine underfoot but the unpaved road from our croft to the council road has more been up to the standard for an olympic bobsled team to practice on. It’s been up to this standard for all of this year (thankfully it is still January and let’s hope this doesn’t still stand for much more of the year). Wellies have been the footwear of choice on ice but even then, the daily outing of the Mini Crofter and I has been challenging and we look more like we should be in Cool Runnings and drafted to Jamaica rather than Alaska. Nor do they make all terrain buggies with winter in mind. Swapping skis for wheels would have really helped in the snow, suitable snow chains for the ice, and why not add a husky to help pull it along for me would have been very gratefully received.

However, snow and now ice are not our only problem. The BBC would like me to believe that the howling wind, the clanging metal from who knows what is really all just a breeze of 3-5 on their forecast. And so, the not-so-all-terrain buggy becomes the less adaptable to gale force winds buggy. Never mind, a couple of bungee cords and I can be more assured the Mini Crofter’s blankets will remain at his side and not snagged on a fence three straths over. Because yes, come rain or shine there is work to do and I’m not good at being inside all day. But if I can dress for the weather, why can the buggy not be? Where’s the gore-tex? The wind resistant hood that you can tether down (think Force Ten tents)?  The rain cover is more suited for the gentle rain of Spain, not the sideways spray of rain in a hurricane. Well, I can dream of a buggy suited for the North Pole as I potter down the lane like a penguin, in crampons, but at least staying upright and mobile.