Home is where the Hearth is

The forecast for the area in which we were staying, was for temperatures to plummet to minus 7 C so we decided to make a dash for home.
 
Slathered in goose fat to protect us against the cold, we forewent our usual picturesque drive and stuck to the major roads.
 
Good decision too as the snow lay deep and crisp and even all around us.
 
As we travelled south the temperature increased by half degrees and by the time we got home, it was a sub- tropical 3 degrees C.
 

This blackbird welcomed us home.