First Snow of the Season

 The quiet green and brown months of late autumn, where little flies, grows or blooms, have been disturbed by quite the heavy snowfall up here. 

It's a long time since we've had snow this heavy at all here, let alone in November. It feel for several hours until about 1am, by which time we had about 10cm on snow on the ground, filling my planters and covering my poor old Decathlon bike that lives outside.

In the morning, one look outside told me that cycling to work was not going to be a great idea, as it turned out, walking through heavy, slippery slush was no fun either and took me over an hour to get to work. 

It is now clear off the roads and paths, apart from a bridge section that looks like it will be no fun after a sub zero night. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 19.11.24

Snowy Flowers

 I've managed to get a run in over the last few days, 9.2km in the snow and hail, but then settling snow and icy conditions made running too difficult. So, it was back to walking, and of course the dusting of snow made for some nice photo opportunities.

It also meant the kids could take their sledges out onto the Sconce, and slide down a millimetre of snow which rapidly turned into mud under the plastic armada.

The cold weather has been horrible for cycling, and I've been walking in again mainly because of the pain of Raynaud's Syndrome I get in my hands when cycling. Each night this week has got colder and colder, and I'm nervous of black ice. 

I hope you are all staying warm and safe.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.02.21

Englishman Posts Obligatory Photographs of a Micron of Snow

 Actually, I must confess I was a little surprised by how long it managed to snow today, pretty much from 9am till 6pm although the heaviest stuff was over by 1pm. 

Of course, these days snow isn't a massively common sight in the UK, so in common with everyone else, I had to go out and take a few photographs before my hands turned purple and fell off. I'm very glad I didn't ride in today, or else I would have had a rather unpleasant ride home. 

I worry that tonight we will have a hard frost so all the pavements are like glass. I might have to wear my Wintertrax things on my shoes to avoid damage.

As you may notice from one photo, our work campus looks like the sort of Siberian Tundra where they dig up frozen baby mammoths.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 14.01.21

We had Snow

 Yesterday saw me riding into a work in torrential rain, carrying a bag of gifts for  our Salvation Army toy collection, and wondering where the heck the day was going to go.

It soon signalled its attention, when out of the battleship grey cloud cover, the rain began to solidify and it started sleeting just as I was removing my various wet weather clothes in my office.

Not long after that, it was properly snowing, the first time I've seen snow in December for a few years. This alarms me greatly, for a long freezing winter of riding my bike to work is a whole world of no fun, believe me. It means agonised hands no matter how thick my gloves, and nervous riding on slippery roads and paths populated with bad drivers and oblivious pedestrians.

What it also seems to mean, are my workplace calling fire drills in the middle of a blizzard. I was lucky enough to be able to grab my hat and waterproof jacket before heading outside; others were less fortunate and there were some severely frozen looking people shivering under a cap of snow in shirtsleeves. 

Of course, some folk had to revert to childhood and scrape snow off the roof of cars to throw snowballs at each other. 

I was panicking, because it got really sludgy after the snow eased to sleet again and I was thinking it was going to be hell to ride home in. Later on I walked across campus to see how the paths were, in my usual ginger rubbish balance way, and I was  like "Oh, bloody great."

On the grasslands, the crows cackled at my anxiety, vividly black against the white.

Gulls circled in the murk above, looking for leftover dinners probably. 

As it happened, I got home safe, and dry, as the slush melted and I took things very easily. But it was a warning of what might be to come. 

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 05.12.20

And then came the Snow

I have to say, after a bright but very cold start to the day with barely a cloud in the sky, I wasn't expecting to open my door after lunch (and a nap) to find fat, wet flakes of snow coming down from the sky like a fall of cotton wool.

I didn't recall seeing that in any forecast.

Considering it no excuse not to go out, rather an opportunity, I decided to take a 90 minute urban walk rather than the stroll to Winthorpe Lake I had planned, figuring it too boggy next to the river to make for a pleasant outing.

Besides, the snow would make for some decent photo opps, and of course, I did capture a snowdrop in the snow, which I knew was doomed to never properly settle.

I was interested to note a sort of quantum effect on the blue lake today. Either I saw the same mandarin drake in two totally different places on the water, or a second mandarin drake has come to join the aquatic party here. I have no way of knowing for certain, but I wish it was the latter.

There were other birds of interest; a goosander which was hard to see when the snow was at its heaviest, and a kingfisher whose flash of neon blue stood out easily against the white and grey.

It has been very cold out, and since returning I've just sat in the warm, halogen heater blazing, and watching Vampire role playing games.

As one does.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 10.02.20

Pristine

Last night was freezing, but beautiful.

It snowed until 2am, and as there were very few people about it lay on the ground, pure egret white, and undisturbed. It glowed in the street lights as it fell.

It was stark and wonderful.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCRackeredNature 18.03.18

Blizzarding Nature

Wow!

It's been really wild today, if luckily not in such sustained bursts as we had during the other "Beast from the East". All day there have been half hour blizzard periods, with a hailstorm thrown in, and the fierce wind has been blowing spindrift all around the place even when the gods turned the snow off.

As I write this, rather pathetically watching Casualty on my own, it is still falling and settling.

I've been out for a couple of walks today, and my face feels rather sandblasted, but even in the cold I always enjoy it. The flowers are wearing white caps, shivering in the breeze, and the small birds are hiding away. Even a cormorant was finding that the water was too cold, and decided to merely watch the choppy surface of London Road pond rather than fish. A fleet of ducks sailed in the distance on the Blue Lake but it was so wild I couldn't tell if they were goosander or not.

The black headed gulls tried to huddle round the lee of the peninsula in the lake, to avoid their feathery decks getting swamped.

The glory of the snows now had some snow to be glorious in, but they weren't looking particularly pleased.

Si

All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 17.03.18