Flaming Skies

 The combination of rain falling, with dark clouds clearing the horizon at sunset, led to spectacular skies this evening. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 18.11.25 

Geese on the Move

 It's the early autumn, the time of year when waterfowl start to return to our local waters for the winter to join the local birds who were too lazy to go on holiday and decided to have a staycation instead.

The first skeins of pink footed geese have been seen all over the county, high in the air with the harshness of their honking rendered more mellifluous by the height. I myself saw a twilight flight of about 60 make their way over the cemetery as I was out trying to film bats - apparently the chapel holds roosting pipistrelles and noctules. 

Of course, the most dominant geese locally are the greylags and the canadas, with the canadas being the dominant birds in terms of numbers. They have a large daily festival on the muddy banks of the Trent opposite the South Marina, where they entertain boat dwellers with their trumpeting racket. 

Then in the evenings, large numbers of them take off and head for their roosts who knows where, and their echelons make their way over the park and the river. I'be veen lucky enough to catch a few of them in flight, and they are far more beautiful in the air than they ever are on land or water. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 28.09.22

Winter Skies

 I've seen some incredible sunrises this week, the vaults painted stunning reds and oranges but of course I've been riding to work at the time so I wasn't able to get any photographs. 

However I did manage to get some sunset photos of golden skies, as I seem to spam my Instagram with every winter. I nip outside during the golden hour as the seagulls fly to their roosts in raggedy echelons overhead, and the campus kestrel gives up its struggle against Arwen or Barra, and perches atop a lamp-post. 

I'm writing this on a Saturday. Recently Saturdays have become my do nothing days, days where I don't have to exercise and can eat treats like Port Salou cheese. 

It's worked out well really, because the last three Saturdays have had terrible weather!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 11.12.21

Wholesome Family Activities

 Over the birthday weekend, my sister and I had a mosey around the family home's garden, and were pleased find some good quality windfall apples from the bramley tree out back.

My sister collected them, and decided that her and I should crumble-ize them the next day. She feels my culinary skills need improving, which considering I am starting from a baseline of zero, shouldn't be hard.

She also thinks I'm rather more capable than I believe.

So, on the saturday, I found myself in the kitchen, attempting to peel apples, a tortuous process where I always thought I was in imminent danger of slicing my own thumb off. My sister did 5 in the time it took me to do one, but I was better at chopping them. I also competent at measuring out the flour and sugar etc etc, and managed to get it all in the bowl without covering myself in anything. 

However the making of the crumble was rather harder than I thought it would be, for some sensory reason I found it hard to tolerate the feeling of butter on my fingers, it was so so wrong. My sister had to do most of that.

All that being said, the crumbles turned out to be delicious. I think I could do one myself, but it would take a long old time!

The next day, I took sis for a walk around the lake, and told her about the wildlife. And as it turns out from later research, bats like it at night!

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 17.10.21

Freezing to Victory

 Another friendly game today, this time against our old friends from Upton, who we have a long association with and indeed have several players who have turned out for our club - the vice versa also applies. 

The normal captain was away on baseball duties, although he did turn up to watch us later on while eating pizza, so we played under a new captain who is the committee member who has done a fantastic job of getting a full programme of Sunday fixtures for us this season since we dropped out of the Sunday league. Luckily he wasn't mad at me for being a few minutes late as I had some personal stuff to attend to in a hurry. 

He even let me have my choice of bowling ends, which meant yay! No more wind in my face!

It was a high scoring fixture, played on a very slow wicket with an outfield the size of Botswana and in temperatures the exact opposite. It was freezing out there in the wind, especially later on when the sun was setting. My hands were purple. 

I actually bowled a bit better than yesterday, if a little too short at times, and proved to be hard to hit on the low wicket, which I was pleased about as I was mainly bowling to a guy who went on to make a fine century and I'm sure was expecting to be able to hit me into the middle of next week. I didn't take any wickets, but our new players for the fixture bowled very well and did indeed take a few wickets. It helped we got their other dangerous batsman out for not very many.

That being said, they still racked up 219 for 5 at over 5 an over, which as I said to the captain was odd as no-one had bowled badly. Shows how good the century was I suppose. 

Normally this would be far too many for us, but we had a rather stronger team than we normally do for this fixture, including our returning Division A batsman who we all felt was the key to winning the match. 

Rightly, as it turned out.

We made a solid, steady start but found oursevles in a spot of a pickle at 50 or so for 2. Mr Div A, and another player returning to play regularly and was also in fine for, started slowly, but soon began to take the bowling apart although to score a 6 on that ground you'd need to load the ball into a howitzer. I had the pleasure of umpiring for a large chunk of their partnership of around 150, although the pleasure was slightly offset by the feeling that I was umpiring in a chest freezer. 

The star bat retired after he made his way to the century, and with about 20 to go the match was won. A very fine victory to chase down 219.

Augurs well for our new Sunday incarnation.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 25.04.21

Powering Through with a Pictorial

 Hello

I managed to get out three times  over the weekend, and feel all the better for it although my Christmas sized stomach disagrees with me somewhat in this regard. 

These are such awful times, I'm glad to be able to spend time outside, albeit alone as I have spent the last ten months. I wear a snoody neck tube type thing I pull up over my face whenever I pass anyone on the path; I try and give myself ten feet of space between myself and anyone else when out and about, and alone in my office I try and avoid the other few thousand employees as much as I can by not leaving it.

I hope you are all staying as safe as you can! Enjoy these pictures of emergence, of subtle colour rather than harsh saturation, and of ice in the river reflecting the sun in a hopeless struggle to avoid destruction.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 12.01.20

The Last Walk of 2020

 You are having a post about my walk yesterday, as I got too caught up in NYE stuff to write it on time, and today I've done not a sausage other than lol about on the sofa.

I've not been to the cricket club in a while, and found that once again it has mutated into a golf course since the season ended. As I half expected to find it underwater again however, this was a relief. The grass underneath my feet was delightfully crispy and crunchy due to the frost, and eerie mist gathered at one end of the ground, rising off the drainage ditch. 

The river is part frozen, and the swans were finding it hard to make much headway. More aconite is in flower. Sp pretty, so evanescent.

So that is that wretched year over; I honestly doubt the first few months of 2021 will be much better.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 01.01.21

Icy Golden Days

 Managed a two hour walk today, walking through puddles that had frozen hard overnight and had then been mined by passing children, carrying away glass like shards of broken ice the size of car windows. 

We haven't had snow, nor does it seems likely we will now. But it is very cold and at night the moon sports angry halos.

Sconce Park was full of robins, one which let me practically walk over it, and squirrels were running riot among the oaks. The good stuff was around Balderton Lake though - 2 drake and 6 duck goosander, 4 of which were close enough in for me to get a quarter decent shot off before they tore off  like powerboats, a kingfisher at the north end of the lake, and a lovely little watch of a goldcrest impersonating a hummingbird.

By now the sun was setting, and we had a firey rosey gold lake again. 15000 more steps.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 30.12.20

Out to Farndon Ponds

 More fine weather yesterday, and with my ankle by much less of a pain, I was able to plug my brain into a good Radio 4 sci fi drama and take myself out to Farndon to see what sort of waterfowl I might find in the little Farndon Ponds reserve next to the marina. 

It's not the most exciting trek to get there, along the old A46, but eventually you get to the church turn off and can make your way towards Willow Holt, which looked rather on the muddy side and was filled with sheep.

For some reason, the sheep were an enticing photographic prospect to a pro looking snapper, who was stood there with a tripod and a towel over his head. Maybe there was an interesting bird lurking. Or perhaps he is very shy. 

I walked past the marina, around the ponds and here things got rather muddy. I might have to buy myself wellies for Christmas. I managed to get a lucky half decent mobile shot of a long tailed tit, but the waterfowl weren't up to much; a few bored looking gulls and a couple of mallards. 

At least the river painted itself gold for the evening.

There's plenty of berries in the hedgerows, but there weren't any redwing like I sometimes see in this part of Farndon. It takes colder weather to the winter thrushes in town.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 15.12.20