Hello Robin!

 Meant to do a longer post with all the icy landscapes we've had here, but today I was lucky enough to get a very cheerful and confiding robin greeting me at work. 

We have a very brown looking campus at the moment, so the sighting of a red breast peeking out from the trees and hedgerows is very welcome. They are becoming much noisier, with more and more of them launching into song from prominent positions on fences and tree tops. It is very welcome, as is the sight I had today of some great tits - not often seen on campus - flitting among the hazel. 

On the coldest day, we even had a couple of fieldfare drop in too. 

I'm sorry about the picture quality, this is about as good as I can get of a songbird with my mobile phone!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 16.01.25

Feeling the Heat at Wellow Dam

 Sunday saw us take ourselves - an hour and half early in some cases which must be some kind of club record - to Wellow for a game of proper village cricket at their very rustic ground with its portaloo that not even the insanely brave would dare use. 

It's a lovely setting, a wicket barely distinguishable from the rest of the ground that slopes down a hill to a dam that separates the ground from a fishing lake, where bored men waving sticks at the water were taunted by effortlessly skimming swallows feeding their young of the telegraph wires. 

By the time arrived, our team, somehow an eleven, was more or less there, but the opposition weren't. The suspicion was that they were at the pub, and indeed some of them may have been until fifteen minutes before the game began, Their selection policy seemed to involve asking anyone to play who happened to be at the ground, including the grandfather of one of our juniors, but it worked as they managed to get eleven too.

Eleven v eleven games are a rarity on Sundays these days.

Sent in by my co-captain to contest the toss because he keeps losing it, I indeed won and announced we would bat without hesitation. On a very hot day, this is always a no-brainer, but after fifteen minutes, we all wished we hadn't.

The Keele captain was wiped out by a nasty swinging delivery by Wellow's guest Australian player from Sherwood in the Bassetlaw league 3 and thus better than any of us. Our young left hander was then torpedoed by a ball that rolled along the ground. Batting at four, I then survived one ball, before what seemed like a perfectly safe defensive shot was scooped off the ground by the bowler, a 6 foot 6 beanpole who somehow launched himself forward, downwards and sideways to make the catch.

I stood there absolutely stunned. Defeated by a giant ginger salmon, I pronounced myself cursed. Four ducks in a row. 

Luckily, our batting was heavily backloaded, and our big hitters, combined with wiser batting by our resident geographer, took us to what seemed like a highly competitive total of 157 in a thirty over game. I felt somewhat relieved, but not for long. 

Wellow always seem to turn out a couple of very good players among the young lads and beer enjoying social players, and it was the aforementioned affable Australian who put us to the sword straightaway with some mighty hitting, although he was dropped early on. We were playing "retire at 50" in this match, so when he was hooked off when he raised his half century after what seemed to be about fifteen minutes, we felt we were perhaps back in the game.

No. The new batsman at three was just as powerful. 

We did keep nicking wickets at the other end, I myself took two for 23, but we couldn't get the gun batter out, indeed he too got to 50 before retiring. Could this be another chance??? 

No, for two reasons. One, the Wellow captain who had got me out was equally capable of hitting a very long bowl, and two, the venerable geographer had hatched a plan to replace me with himself in order to bowl gentle lollipops for the Wellow captain to hit into the pond in order to get the game over and get us to what was admittedly a very nice pub all the quicker on what was by now a very hot afternoon. 

He was hit for twenty, and the job was done. So we had lost, but it was still an enjoyable afternoon. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 25.06.24

Back Out on the Trails

 Running day today, a bitterly cold one and it is only going to get colder. 

The birds knew it was new year, you know. Since then, there is so much more song and noise in the dawn. I have local robins and blackbirds singing to greet me as I open the door in the morning. Birds are getting territorial, alarm calls chacking out from the blackbirds, and robins aggro-strutting in the old oak wood at the park.

On the water the mallard drakes are in full breeding colours, bottle green heads glowing in sunlight. Goosander are on the two lakes, the pieballed battleships of the duck world. 

On the ground, snowdrops and aconite are out in flower, cowslips too in the library gardens. It is my favourite few months of the year now, as the cemetery changes colour every month as I run through it. I'm loving running again, when my body will stand it.

I'm trying to rediscover the joy in moving through nature. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 15.01.24

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

The Nature of Berlin and the Tiergarten

 A few more Berlin photos for you, focussing on the nature I found on my sister and I's long walks around The Tiergarten and Kreuzberg.

Apart from our Kreuzberg day, the weather was pretty chilly and wet and so there wasn't a lot fluttering about, and what there was, was pretty much the same you would find in the UK. However, the honeybees looked different to ours and may be of the carniolan sub-species.

So the hope of finding fritillaries or camberwell beauties I'd seen in photos from Germany ended up being rather dashed!

Enjoy!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.05.23

The Treecreeper

 I've been housebound by a combination of both terrible weather and a terrible back spasm. Really not happy about my exercise level lately and diet too; feel rather chubby with my trip to Berlin upcoming. 

On a day when I was able to get out I was however fortunate enough to have a rare good view of a treecreeper in the Old Oak Wood by the River Devon. They are incredibly hard birds to see against a tree trunk, only the flash of white belly giving the bird's appearance away usually.

As ever, it was spiralling up the tree trunk with it's almost claw like tail acting as a third leg. 

Not rare birds, but a rare sighting!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.04.23

The Mandarin

 Long term readers may remember me writing of the male mandarin duck that used to spend time at the Blue Lake; one of the odd birds that perhaps found its way there from a collection like the pink footed goose that used to visit, or the Jurassic looking muscovy drake that used to creak around on massively clawed webbed feet.

This bird, however, has not been seen on the Blue Lake for a while. 

There have been reports of it down on the Trent from time to time, but I've not seen it down there...no wait I have. Once, amidst the roots of the willow by the castle wall. But that was pre-pandemic times, I'm sure. 

Which of course begs the question - was the beautiful mandarin drake with golden sails I saw further down the river by the locks yesterday the same bird? I've no idea. 

But it feels rather more romantic, so to speak, to believe that it is. It's not as if there's loads of mandarin ducks round here.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.03.23

Late Night Sketching

 Just dropping my first attempt to do an oil pastel of a natural subject.

I think you could just about tell what it is, even if I hadn't labelled this.

I make no claim on having any talent whatsoever.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 16.03.23

Feathery Friend

 I've recently noticed that I've got a new resident blackbird around my garden.

I think it's a first winter male; his feathers are not totally black yet, and his beak is still a slightly dirty orange colour, rather than the gleaming sunset colour of a mature male. 

He seems to have a girlfriend, but potentially also a love rival who I've seen in the trees over the back wall, and who also is a mean songster too at sunset. 

We've had a little rain recently, and rain has collected in a couple of little seedling containers I haven't found a use for yet. This week I noticed the young male blackbird came down into my little garden for a drink, and a quick if rather inefficient bath. Sadly it was twilight, so not a great photo. 

He's a very confiding bird, and doesn't seem to spook at me easily; I've often seen him sat on my wall when I open the door. 

I've resolved to see if I can find a suitable bird bath for him!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 18.02.23

Just Some Quick Sketches

 I've been gifted some more art supplies, and bought some myself to add to my ever growing collection of random A6 sketchbooks. I have pencils, graphite sticks, oil pastels and also some very gothic black paper to use them on. 

But none of the fancy stuff today.

I've knocked up a couple of bird sketches, using one hardbound sketchbook and a rather limited pallete of felt tip pens I had to hand. 

I work quickly, and with all the skill and dexterity of a five year old. Nonetheless I rather enjoy doing them, thinking - stupidly - that they are like Bill Bailey's sketches in his excellent bird guide I got a couple of Christmases ago.

I present them to you now for your "enjoyment".

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 09.02.23

Lakeside Bimbling

 A day where pictures speak louder than words, where the sun shone and a butterfly flew over my garden.

Many more flowers are out - blooming crocuses, lesser celandine in a place where photographing it would have meant falling in a lake, and balkan anemones in the cemetery.

Crows gathered for a social chat in the tree tops, and a fat squirrel ran away from me in surprise, and probably, horror. 

The lake was beautifully lit by a low sun, silhouetting waterfowl as they went quietly about their aquatic business. 

Me, I walked around and through it all, as Paul Gambaccini asked questions about Bruckner on Radio 4.

Very pleasant. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 30.01.23