Frost and fridge-raiding

H&H's hunting editor Catherine Austen frets about whether or not hunting will be frozen off- and what traces of thievery she might find in her kitchen after returning from a day's hunting

- Catherine Austen

LAST night, we had the first really hard frost of the winter. Earth is hard as iron, and water like a stone. The next two nights are predicted to be the same – with daytime temperatures a couple of degrees above freezing. Just enough to thaw a slippery inch or so. This is irritating.

Will we hunt on Saturday? Do I get my horse clipped on Friday, as planned, or not? I need to wash his less-than-snowy mane. How, without creating an ice-rink in the yard? I don’t deal with this sort of uncertainty well and am fretting.

Although really I would much prefer to hunt mid-week, both my horse and I live (a couple of miles apart) in the prime of our Saturday country and it seems bonkers to spend money on diesel when most Saturday meets are on our doorstep. Plus, you know, people seem to expect me to work during the week.