Caught in the Frost

There is something really wrong with this image. In the first place, I shouldn't have been able to take it at all.

This is a seven-spot Ladybird, which is the most common of our native Ladybirds They normally disappear by November, overwintering as adults in sheds, cracks and crevices. This one was caught out by the hard frost on the kale leaves and must have ventured there to find something to eat; not that there should be aphids around at this time of year either.

The tremendous storms have made us forget that it's been incredibly mild. This mornings crisp frost made such a difference to the landscape. Water running off the hill froze into hard sheets of ice. The roads were lethal!

The sun has gone now, the wind is gathering speed and we're expecting the next downpour to arrive very shortly. A walk this afternoon is well and truly cancelled as we expect the worst once again.