A waller was repairing a break in a boundary line where frost had lifted the stones and left the face loose. The ground there holds clay close to the surface, so the stones stay damp, even when the air is clear. A man helping him chose a large block with a clean edge and too much weight.

Welsh people have a phrase for the bitter wind that comes down from the east in winter: gwynt traed y meirw, the wind from the feet of the dead.

When the east wind howls, bank your fire low,
Keep the door shut tight, let no stranger through,
Hold your children close and the cattle near,
The black tongue moves when the sky runs clear.