A Soggy Start to 2024

 It was raining like mad last night, it is raining like anything today, so I've spent New Years Day on the sofa. 

In fact, we seem to have been enduring rain and stormy winds for the entire holiday season! There is so much flooding around here, with Sconce Park pastures and large chunks of Farndon village being below water. But I've still managed to get out running a few times, albeit going very slowly, and really enjoyed being out there, spotting the first signs of the colours of spring. 

In addition to snowdrops, we have the first flowering aconite, mahonia and most strangely, cowslips in bloom in the library gardens. 

I've enjoyed watching tweeping flocks of goldfinch working on teasel heads, long tailed tits flitting through willow trees by the lake and river, and on New Years Eve a huge buzzard sat on the ground in a paddock, staring intently at something under a battleship grey sky. 

There's a lot of world out there, and I intend to explore more of it than I have been doing. 

Si

All text and images copyright Cream Crackered Nature 01.01.24

Wading Time

 Sadly not a post about spotting wading birds, but rather a walk at the weekend in the rain.

I've had a sore back the last couple of weeks, as well as a cold, so I've not been out too much. Determined to go out on Saturday despite the rain, I went out in full waterproofs and wellingtons, wellingtons I've only worn once before, and headed down to the park to see how the flooding was going. 

Well the water has receded somewhat, but the heavy rain that day was making them rise again, and a lot of the path by the River Devon was underwater. However, with wellies on, I was able to power on through! 

I felt ever so slightly adventurous, rather than slow and lazy for a change. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 06.11.23

Christmas Eve

 I was grateful to be allowed to leave work early, and so took a walk to the park, where unlike the albeit very high Trent, The Devon has burst banks.

Happy Christmas everyone, doubly so to all spending the day alone in this insane year.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 24.12.20

The Formerly Flooded Farndon

Determined not to waste a Saturday despite a strong breeze as the latest somewhat milder storm blew through, I headed off for Farndon after doing such exciting things as buying a new kettle and toaster.

Living it large eh?

Earlier in the week the Trent at Farndon had burst its banks and flooded right up to the Wyke Lane, leaving the Boathouse pub literally that, although they still let in customers through the back door.

The flood waters however have receded pretty quickly, and now only the Willow Holt nature reserve is still underwater really, which it often is in winter anyway being very low lying. Wyke Lane was blocked though so I had to divert round.

There's still plenty of flowers on view; the verges are full of snowdrops albeit a bit past their best, and the little green by the pub is covered in crocuses. Every so often a few geese flew by, in the opposite directions to the stubby cormorants who always remind me of Star Wars X wing fighters in flight, and are deadlier even than them to fish.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 22.02.20

Aaaaand we're Under Water Again

These are pictures I took yesterday of a swollen, near raging River Trent flowing through the town.

It's gotten considerably worse overnight; the river has hit a level at Farndon of 2.6m which is just a little bit down on the all time record of 2.76m and we are reaching the levels of flooding we had back in 2000.

Our cricket ground is well and truly drowning, as is the rugby club, the sugar factory and the caravan site at Smeatons lakes. Gunthorpe is cut off.

As someone said in the media today, we have now had 3 sets of "once in a lifetime" flooding in 14 years in some parts of the country. So there's something to think about.

I've also been thinking a lot of by various neuro issues today; my tics have been really bad at times, caused by the usual fixated thinking causing internal stress. The usual internal debate about which symptoms are Tourettes, and which are Autism.

It's a lot to think about.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 18.02.20

Newark floods

Not as bad as november 2001 but riverside park still a very soggy place to be

Home Town Floods

I understand large amounts of Willow Holt and my favourite run along the Fanrdon reach of the river trent are underwater; similarly RSPB Langford Lowfields has suffered badly. I guess it is better it happens now rather than in Spring and Summer when birds are nesting, but you wonder about the effect on mammals and any reptiles about.

I ran today round the Coddington Route - a bright, sunny and cold day. Somewhere over Banrbygate, a Buzzard was struggling to find a thermal in a very urban location Ive never seen a Buzzard in before!

But the purpose of the run, other than not becoming a repulsive fat oinker as normal, was to take some photographs of the floods in the town centre and along the castle and weir reach. This is about four feet down on peak level, which apparently was 4.8m above the usual Trent level! Yikes!

The Barge pub not attracting many drinkers

Newark Castle and Soggy Riverside Park

The Weir and The Island