Guess What's Back?

 Got out for a run late afternoon, where the clouds were just beginning to break up after an entirely grey day. 

The run had an objective in mind; to head to the cemetery to see if there are any snowdrops in flower, And sure enough there were! Right where I was expecting, the place they always come into flower first, just the one bunch in flower at the moment, but, they count!

The lake was peaceful, gently rose gold gilded, with the ducks congregating for a feed of grain from a young child. 

The sunset that followed, as I ran along opposite the hospital, was a firey and glorious spectacle. 

Is anything growing where you are?

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 15.12.2024

Flashback to the Last Insects of the Season

 While waiting for the ground to awaken once again, with snowdrops expected in about, gosh, maybe three weeks, lets look back to the mild spell before the snow and bitter cold, and look at the last pollinator I found on the last blooms of campus. 

Also, let me introduce you to the beautiful markings of a noble false widow spider. I remember that a few years ago, the sighting of one of these faintly venomous spiders would cause entire schools to close so that anything with eight legs could be vapourised, now they are a common sigh everywhere round here. 

Hopefully you are still finding interesting things to look at where you are. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.11.24

A Silver Y in my Marigolds

 Went into my little stamp sized garden this morning, and immediately my attention was drawn to the planter where I repotted marigolds I bought from the local flower shop a couple of months ago. 

They've done very well, but they are fading now. Best £2.40 I've spent on plants. 

What I initially thought was a bit of dead flower on the edge of the planter turned out to be a sleepy silver y moth! It went and hid under the flowers for a little while, before coming out to sun itself on a flower head, fibrillating its wings as it warmed up, before flying off. 

However, before it did so, I did manage to get a decent photograph of this day flying moth. 

It was a busy day, flutterer wise. The top flowers on my buddleia are being visited by red admirals, and I found a small tortoiseshell sunning itself on my wall, leaving a very gothic looking shadow on the brickwork. 

I add in a few pictures from the library gardens yesterday too. We've had a couple of nice days since the hailstorm insanity earlier in the week. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.09.24

Those which Buzz and Flutter

 We've had a week of better weather, days where the heat has even been causing the Great British Public (TM) to moan. 

It usually takes two or three days for that to happen. 

This means there has been a lot of pollinators and other beasties on the wing, and I've been trundling about poking my camera into occasionally sharp and stingy things to try and find some beautiful things to show you. 

We are just coming out of the June gap, where the first flight butterflies of early spring are done, with the appearance of meadow browns and ringlets in decent numbers, far greater numbers than the early season flutterers. Among bees, a lot of the mining bee species no longer seem to be about, but there are plenty of honeybees and differing bumble types. 

Swifts scream above my flat daily, and in rural areas juvenile swallows are being fed on telegraph wires. House martins twitter too, with their stubby bodies and white rumps. A third of the Summer has gone.

And it has gone so fast.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.06.24

The Island Refuge

 Today I will show you "The Island", a refuge of wildflowers in a rather unpromising location.

A mass of ox eye daisy, with corncockle, cornflower, scabious and poppies thrown in, it is full of bees of all kids - today's special find was a buffish mining bee. 

The air quality isn't so good though, as you might gather from a traffic island surrounded by two dual carriageways.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.05.24

No Hirundines in Winthorpe!

 Keeping myself mobile this week, I headed out to Winthorpe village, the next village downstream on the Trent from here.

I had a very specific location in mind; the old railway station cottage at the level crossing, presumably for when the barriers weren't automatic. This cottage has perfect eaves for house martins to nest under, and if you are there at the right time of the year, several pairs of these white rumped mini-swallows will be there, feeding their little ones with bugs caught from over the river. 

The swallows also enjoy swooping for insects over the water. Alas, no-one had told them or the house martins that I was coming, so they haven't sped up on their journeys over here from Africa. 

So, I just ran back through the village, taking a few photographs on the way.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 25.04.24

The Arrival of Winter

 Finally, after a nasty cold snap, we have returned to the usual normality of early winter these days; heavy rain and stormy winds blowing my mini greenhouse over. 

But it was a bitter time for a few days, the sort of times I hate because of cycling to work with agonised Raynaud Syndrome hands surrounded by maniac drivers. We had a surprisingly heavy snowfall one evening that was slushified by rain the next day, with really hard frosts sandwiching it. 

The bad weather and painful ankle has made having my walks difficult; I dislike walking in icy conditions after smashing my elbow a few years ago. But I've been out a few times, looking at the new sights that winter brings us round here. I've been treated to delightful flocks of goldfinches twittering noisily as they feed of teasel heads, and pure white little egrets shining in the sun as they fly past my office window.

On the Blue Lake, goosander have returned, seemingly getting earlier every year, and flocks of long tailed tits work the trees lapped by the water. And in my container garden, crocus spears and allium shoots have re-appeared, although other bulbs I've planted haven't yet.

Today, with mild and dry conditions, I set out on a snowdrop hunt in the cemetery - and I found them too! In the same place they always appear first.

With the world as it is, it is re-assuring that wildflowers re-appear every year. The world keeps going, just as I try to.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.12.23

Back on the Greensward

 Cricket is back!

Well, it's been back for a couple of weeks actually, but the games I was due to play got rained off, although I did end up umpring a second team game for several hours, but that victory had rather felt like reflected glory in the bar afterwards. 

I couldn't wait to get back to the real thing.

So, on Sunday, a day of unexpected warmth and sunshine, I threw my now not very whites in my kitbag, and headed for Kelham Road to vice captain or Sunday side against the nice gentelemen from Cheers Cricket Nottingham, one of whom was having a crafty pre-game nap on a bench when I arrived.

Being rather hungover, I envied him. 

Despite the terrible weather our ground staff had done an amazing job on the ground and wicket, and our new club president had very kindly come down to umpire. The skipper lost the toss as usual, and so Cheers decided to bat.

Now, our team was very strong, with several first team players, and Cheers had said they were very week and were worried about the game, and after ten overs, this certainly seemed to be the case. They were four for two after brilliant spells from our opening bowlers, and a hasty tactical meeting between myself and the skipper was convened in order to stop the game only lasting an hour. 

"Let's get the donkey bowlers on" was the new strategic plan, and it worked brilliantly as our leg spinner was hammered into the adjoining field second ball.

Now it was time to really go for it. I was brought on.

Now, over the winter problems with my shoulder and ankle have meant I have given up my left arm swing bowling, which has been rubbish for three years anyway, and have switched to bowling right arm off spin. Nets had led me to be quite optimistic it would go ok. 

Reality, however, has a way of pissing on you and claiming it is rain.

My first ball was short, turned a little, and was hammered over the boundary for six. As was the third, and the fourth. Two others only went for four, and long grass kept one to two. 

The over went for 28 in all, much to the delight of my team-mates who laughed mightily with every hit. 

I did get better after that, although I did throw in a couple of wides, but my three overs went for 33, which was a bit much even for our new tactical plan, so decent bowlers were brought back on.

"You were lucky he didn't take you apart" said one of the Cheers lads afterwards of the batter. What, and going for 28 isn't being taken apart?

The game continued in this pattern...good bowlers for a bit, and then further attempts to give Cheers a few runs in the aim to try and get them up to a reasonable score. However, unlike what happened to me, the Cheers lads weren't able to take advantage and were bowled out for 132 after what seemed a very long 35 overs. 

Am I upset about what happened to my bowling? Naaah, life's too short. I was rather enjoying myself out there!

So, after a tupperware tea break in the sunshine - cherry jellies for energy in my case - it was time for us to bat in what seemed like would be a straight forward chase. Indeed our young opening bats made a bright start and took us to nearly fifty before a wicket fell. 

After that though, we really began to make heavy weather of our task. The Cheers bowlers were clearly rather better than their batting, and we struggled to get a partnership going for a while. Wickets were falling, and the first team captain had to be rescued from watching Arsenal in the pavilion in order to steady the ship.

The first team captain is very good at steadying the ship, everyone says it, and indeed he and the other senior first teamer in the side did just that to take us close to our target, until one got a good ball, and the first team skipper played just a few minutes too early at a slower delivery. We had 14 left to get, and wickets were tumbling again, forcing me as the regular and no-longer reluctant number 11 to put my pads on. 

Enter our first team opening bowler, who on request we shall name. His name is Craig, AKA "Bimmo" and like me he usually bats at eleven, and was not batting at eleven today because I was in the team. It was he who steered us home with some elegant late cuts and dabs, although he nearly forgot to actually, you know, run, when he hit the winning single down to third man. 

So, a successful if slightly wobbly start to our Sunday game, and no I'm not going to stop bowling spin.

I'll get the batters worked out, then bowled out, so there!

Nature photographs included to annoy the chairman. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCRackeredNature