New month, same old lies!
O dear - does that sound bitter?! The last week has been dominated by rain and floods, with a couple of fine interludes, but there has always been that promise that once we got to Saturday, the weather would change. Yes, it would be cold at night, but the sun would shine, taking daytime temperatures up to a balmy 8 or 9ºC and there would be no rain for about 10 days or so. The ground would dry out and we could look forward with a certain optimism. To be fair, yesterday was rather lovely - it was cold, and a bit overcast in the morning, but the afternoon was lovely - just right for starting to sort out next year's firewood!
The dead tree came down with a satisfying thwunk, and we chopped up the top bits and either carried them away or stacked them for carrying away today. The bird life in the One Acre Wood was giving it some, with great tits trying to out-do robins, who were trying to out-do nuthatches, and the woodpeckers were adding an unsubtle top note to the symphony of bird song. The two clay pits/newt ponds were full to overflowing with water - I have high hopes of a good crop of tadpoles in the next few weeks, and all seemed right with the world.
Indeed up until 9:45am this morning, all seemed bright and glowing, albeit with a heavy hoare frost. And then the fog rolled back in and we are back to dank gloom - I'm sure someone has seen Dementors knocking around!! When we visited the Cats in the Country, it was difficult to make out the top of the Meadow from the Plantation, and that is barely 150 yards! On a more positive note, I had to take Monsieur Clause to the vet yesterday, as he had a swollen paw - basically an abscess from a bite or cut of some kind. Today, when I went to give him his drugs, he was waiting for me at the door, although as soon as I greeted him, his paw retreated in pain. He inhaled his breakfast including the drugs, and then looked pathetic for treats, before I put my wellies on to top up the bird feeder. While I was away doing that, he decided that the cabin roof was the place to be and jumped up. Herumph!
On the other day we had sunshine, I got out for a walk around the village. I went up to a high point I haven't visited for a while, and with the clear winter sun, it was possible to get a nice photo across the valley to an old manor house that was very important back in the day.
I also went down to our river to see how that was coping with the vast amounts of rain we have had. It is rare that it floods by the village, and the sluice here does help to control the flow, although I think at the moment it is down flat to help evacuate the water away down towards the big rivers further south.
Tomorrow we have the last Red Day of the EDF winter 24/25 campaign, used to control peak load when generation capacity is low, or when the European spot price is high, or a combination of the two. Last year, they held on to a few days for March, this year I think they will be struggling, as the freezing fog is due to continue for about 10 days as far as I can tell (I do so hope I am wrong though). Once Red days are gone, I can spend a bit more time working through trail camera files and loading up interesting videos. There are some nice ones of badgers knocking around, so perhaps next week?
Have a good week! I'm full of cold and a hacking cough, so I hope things are going better for you!
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