White Stuff

Daddy was a bit poorly yesterday, so I was a good cat and curled up next to him to keep myself warm.
Occasionally I purred, or dribbled on him, to comfort him and, more importantly, to signal when I was hungry / needed attention.
See, I'm a caring cat.

Anyway, now that I've been outside today I've noticed that it's a lot colder than it has been, particularly on my little catty-nose and the tips of my ears.
I'm not too worried as I have plenty of places to hide outdoors, and snuggle up to Fluffles.

I am worried about one thing though; the white stuff.

The white stuff has arrived on both winters of my little catty-life so far. It falls from the sky then sticks to the trees and the ground. Sometimes lots of it sticks to the ground.

It's confusing stuff. It's very cold, particularly on my little paws, so I have to walk across it quite quickly.
Also, I can't tell -until I jump into it- how high up my body it will be. Sometimes it's up to my little catty-willy, ouch! I suppose it's the one time I'm thankful that I don't have balls any more.

It doesn't taste too bad, but I worry about what's underneath it. What if I put my paw into something disgusting, or if a nasty fox is hiding under it?

One major problem is that it makes pouncing difficult. I can see magpies and pigeons much more easily on the white stuff, but they can also see me, instantly, as I'm a black cat (it's good luck if I cross your path, as I'm so cute :) ).
I also leave a trail of paw prints in the white stuff, so birds (there's less squirrels and mice about when it's cold) know there's a cat in that territory :(

It is quite funny if you can hide under it, however -apart from the cold catty-willy- as you can play-pounce on friends. I did it to Pumpkin last year, and she jumped over two fences in fright. Lulu then did it to me, and I ran into a bush. This wasn't so funny.

I do wonder what this stuff is? I don't know if I'll ever find out.
I do actually hope that it falls again this year. The pouncing problems aren't that bad as daddy feeds me anyway, and the white stuff makes winter a little more interesting.

I'll have to wait and see....