Jailbreak!

 Despite various rehab exercises I've been doing, and also sitting like a lemon with a freeze pack wrapped round my ankle, the tendonitis isn't settling down much and I'm getting frustrated with having to rest the tendon all the time. 

It's not good for my mental health, and it isn't good for you, dear readers, as it means I haven't got anything to show you. 

So, fed up after a mix up at the chemist with my repeat prescription, I just went home, got and my bike, and headed off to first take a look at the lake, and then journeyed up the N64 cycle path to Cotham.

An unpleasant vision in a bright red waterproof - that I had to stuff in my rucksack as I got far too warm - I flushed all the redwing from the hawthorn bushes along the track. The crows were far more composed, cawing in disdain. 

It was a grey day, with flat light, but I was just relieved to be properly active outside. It wasn't a long ride, only 15km, and it is clear that my fitness is suffering, but I intened to try and keep getting on the bike for short rides when the weather allows. 

I owe it to my brain and to you.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.11.22

Gentle Meanderings

 I'm still not doing a lot of walking; I am now doing rehabbing exercises for my ankle - including a lurid orange foam roller with medieval torture instrument vibes - and wearing an ice pack when I remember.

I therefore apologise for the lack of riveting content, it is very frustrating for me to be not outside and also the weather is too atrocious for bike riding. The rain seems unrelenting, but I'm guessing our reservoirs need it so I'm not complaining about that. 

I can at least do my best to get outside, and just enjoy the sights and sounds. The harsh honking of the geese at the marina is rendered almost melodic by distance, and there is usually a robin to be heard singing somewhere.

There's a new noise too, one I've only recently discovered. The little sculpture outside Rumbles cafe, which I thought was actually a pretty little piece of polished metal, is actually a sort of steel drum as I found when I heard kids tapping it in their mittened hands, a soft "bonging" rather less tinny than a steel drum in actual fact.

It's a sound oddly out of place under skies of battleship grey. 

Si

Why are you Guys Still Out?

 Been off work for three days. Two of those have been misty, mizzley, cold and grey, weather to hide from. Get the TV on, pull the fleece blanket up round your neck on the sofa and stay as cozy as you can.

Saturday, however, was just glorious. Mid November, and it was shirt sleeves weather. I went to Rumbles cafe at the park, and watched a red admiral - always the last butterfly on the wing each autumn - flutter over my head as I sipped on my tea. 

Because of this warm November, there's still some flowers in bloom in the lovingly cultivated beds outside Rumbles, and unbelievably there's still some other pollinators on the wing. 

A hoverfly and a honeybee, still awake and feeding! 

It's an absolutely beautiful thing to see and a privilege to photograph it. But really, is this what we should be seeing so deep into the autumn? Flowers in bloom and insects feeding off them? 

I know that a lot of nature lovers are worried about this too. They wonder why there are trees in bud, orchids sprouting in meadows and other manifestations you would expect in March, not November. It feels wrong to them. It feels wrong to me. 

Something isn't right out there.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.11.22

Now, Trying with Coloured Pencils

 This weekend has been so utterly grey and wet, there's been barely anything of note to see.

That being the case, I bought some coloured pencils and decided to have another go at sketching. Using pencils is rather more time consuming than doing big toddlerish swipes of felt tip pen, and produces a rather more subtle result - hardly a surprise!

So, I present to you a honey bee, drawn from a photo in a blog post from a couple of weeks ago. 

Looks about the standard of a ten year old, I'd say.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.11.22