Autumn Skies

The first frosts are now upon us, and my rather daft looking neck tube snood thingy has now been broken out. The winter gloves will have to be worn tomorrow, my hands were cold in the ordinary ones.

We've had a day of occasional showers and broken rainbows, and in work I've been printing out posters of two metre high zombies. Don't ask. I was out in the rain, and finding it quite refreshing actually, my aforementioned new jacket is pretty warm.

I should have been running tonight, but I had too much pasta for tea and so I've been geeking out on Star Trek Voyager instead while waiting for Autumnwatch, where Chris Packham has an enviable bright green padded jacket.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 29.10.19

Cold Sunrises

The weather has turned decidely chilly at night recently, which has prompted me to buy a Chris Packham on Autumnwatch type quilted jacket. Obviously it's not a flash North Face one like he has, but a synthetic down variant reduced to £20 in Millets, but hopefully it will keep me warm in the hard winter we are reckoned to have in store for us.

The consequence of the cold mornings is that we've had some lovely sunrises, the view from the railway bridge was spectacular this morning but tricky to photograph from a moving bike without breaking all your limbs. So you will have to make do with the photo I've taken.

Watched some kind of raptor do a night-time flyover a couple of nights ago, a ghostly pale sight in the streetlight glow of town. It glided strongly with only of beats of its wings. No idea what it was, peregrine maybe.

No idea they flew at night either.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 22.10.19

Look at these Skies!

The most magical light is when a low sun peaks out from the back of a weather front and lights up a world that is mostly under dark, rainy clouds.

Tonight was such an evening, and we had a rainbow thrown in too under the brassy sky.

It was a wonderful view.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 20.02.19

The Clouds! The Pain!

I went to the park for a lunch time cup of tea- nothing terribly exciting there I'm afraid, apart from the fact that the black-headed gulls were incredibly noisy and sounded like the gull-like screeches on "Echoes" by Pink Floyd.

I wonder how it gets decided which gulls get their black heads back first - is it a testosterone thing, like some form of avian puberty? Who knows?

The cloudscapes on yet another scuddy day were spectacular.

The early evening was taken up with cricket practice where again I bowled well, and batted horribly if not as horribly as last week. The main issue was my foot, which was fine last week, but this evening flared up really badly as I made an awkward step while delivering the ball.

Hence, it's rolling myfoot on a tennis ball time again.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.02.19

Let there be More Light

So, no more entertaining children. and back to the remarkable sights that the sunsets this winter.

I'm always looking for photo opps, but at this time of year a photographer who likes going close upon wildflowers and insects, and dreams of one day being a good bird photographer despite the struggles with his camera.

Bird photography has never worked out for me. My bridge camera - not a very expensive one - is very sensitive to my shaky hands and the results have always been disappointing. I intend to practice in the garden this winter, with birds on feeders, and see how I do.

I'm also looking at how I can get walking and running again with these plantar-fascitised trotters of mine. Because I'm getting a bit fed up.

Si

All text and images copyright 11.12.18

Rain is Coming In

I've had an entirely restful day where I haven't done much apart from go the park for a cup of tea, listen to the radio and watch the various weather fronts come over.

I'm still resting my heel and I'm happy to report that it seems to be a bit less painful today,especially without having to traipse all over our huge work campus. My neck and shoulder are still troublesome however, so I'm having to be careful.

We will see how I feel tomorrow.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.11.18

Back in the Long Game

Today started off with a glorious morning; I walked down to the park with my denim jacket on and by the time I got there I was absolutely melting and found myself sitting out at the cafe with just a T-Shirt on, which is kind of crazy for mid October.

There were even butterflies about; flushed a red admiral on my driveway and large whites were up too.

The afternoon did get rather dull, but perhaps I didn't want it to be hot if I was going running. And run I did, 12km, the furthest I've run in ages. Took me ages as well, but to run the Farndon river route after so long felt good, the power station glowering under menacing clouds.

So many geese about too, they've all come back from their holidays!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 21.10.18

Crepuscular Spectacular

Well, the  temperature has continued to rise today, resulting in a surprisingly sweaty ride home.

However, it was a beautiful one, because some curiously swiss cheese like cloud formations led to some incredible crepuscular rays as I rode home, bike lights shining for the first time this autumn.

Random alignments of sun and water vapour creating such beauty.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 26.09.18

Striking Clouds

Well, I've very much gone down with a heavy cold after all that resistance sapping exposure to cold weather last week. As ever, the acheyness and heavy headedness recedes a little after a couple of days, to be replaced with a near paralyzing cough. I have had severe coughs on average twice a year ever since I can remember, right back into childhood.

I have no idea why they get so bad.

Luckily when I do rhythmic exercise it doesn't seemso bad - I'm okwhen I'm cycling for real or on the trainer. However, as soon as I stop I sound like  a 19th century TB sanitarium.

Work has therefore been a pretty embarrassing experience, as folk can hear me coughing nearly all the time, even if I go and hide outside. But, as ever, I made it through the day, a day where I watched buzzards from the office window, and behind them a small echelon of pink footed geese heading NE< migrating home to breed.

Oh, and some great cloudscapes.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 

Clouds of Black and Pink

We've had some skyscapes over the last couple of days, to be sure.

Not all of them dropped huge amounts of water on me. ALhough most of them did.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 19.01.18

Passion FLowers

I think my bust summer has left me more wrecked than I thought, my legs are just totally dead and my 5km times are about 7 minutes behind normal!

Still it is nice to be outside, you just have to time it right at the moment. Today there's been sharp heavy rainstorms interspersed with cloudless blue skies so at one minute you can barely see your hand in front of you and the next you can see to the end of the universe.

Makes for dramatic skies in the in between times, as you watch near black weather fronts perfectly delineated as they cross the vault.

The passion flowers are out, I always find it odd that something so colourful should appear at the end of the season. They are so alien as well, you can almost imagine Spock telling you not to get too close to one lest it shoot venomous pods at you.

Luckily it's not large enough to have any triffid like man-eating qualities!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 12.09.17

Cycling Through the Dusk

I went to see mum and help her watch Time Time repeats, so my afternoon exercise ended up being a little late, so I decided I'd get further on the bike rather than on my sciatic buttocks, so it was off on my noble steed I took.

Unfortunately it had stopped raining, but the light was still bad. I dressed in neon yellow, and had my lights going, but my speedy riding could not beat the sunset. That you couldn't see.

Still, the roads were very quiet and it was still light enough to be safe, but most birds were rendered silhouette apart from the yellowhammers, who's heads matched my top. Autumn colours still dominant, but the leaves have had a bad time with the winds of the last few days.

My ride was perfect, until I heard Roger Scruton on Radio 4. Ugh.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.11.15

My driveway. Not sure what these are. Lime?

Trees as the light fails

Agricultural scarlet

Flower basket

Distant gulls

Angry clouds

The reigns of my steed

Old RKO logo

Wet country lane

A46 flyover