A Walk In The Mist

30th December 2010: Another foggy day. We took the train from Norwich to Cantley and walked back to Brundall via footpaths, lanes, Buckenham Marshes and Strumpshaw Fen RSPB Reserve. It was very atmospheric, with trees looming out of the mist and fog, clicks and whistles of starlings and, at Buckenham Marshes, a flock of Bean Geese calling as they flew overhead.
At Strumpshaw Fen we saw three Water Rails from the Fen Hide, mostly on the edges of the reeds but also venturing out onto the ice. At the Visitor Centre we had great views of a Stoat just outside the hide (with a black tip to its tail, so stoatally different from a Weasel). Also a couple of Barn Owls and two Hares during the course of the walk, and Wigeon, Shovelers, Teal, Lapwing and Rooks at Buckenham Marshes.

Lane near Cantley

Highland cows

Near Cantley

Lane near Cantley

Cantley to Hassingham

Lane between Hassingham and Buckenham

Buckenham

Buckenham Church

River Yare by Buckenham Marshes

Strumpshaw Fen - view from Visitor Centre

Good To Get Outdoors Again

Well, the snow has gone at last and although it's foggy, the temperature has reached a high of 6°Celsius, which feels almost tropical!
It has been good to get outdoors again, to the allotment today to prune autumn raspberries and yesterday to Grapes Hill Community Garden to clear bindweed roots from the topsoil.

Clearing bindweed roots

See http://www.grapeshillcommunitygarden.org/bindweed_removal.htm.

Merry Christmas from Design Different

Merry Christmas!
As an antidote to all the snow and cold weather, here is a photo of where reindeer go in summer:

Reindeer, Porthcressa Beach, Isles of Scilly (June 2010)

Website of the Month - Steve Bell Cartoons

It's time to nominate the website of the month and initially I thought of nominating WikiLeaks, but in the tradition of Mastercard and other big companies I've decided not to offer my principled support to free speech and whistleblowers.
Sometimes we just need to be cheered up, so I've chosen Steve Bell's Cartoons website as site of the month.

Grapes Hill Community Garden - Bulb Planting

In a comparatively balmy 2 degrees Celsius(!) we planted daffodil bulbs this morning at the Grapes Hill Community Garden. We planted mini daffodils and also the appropriately named "Ice Follies", which has a yellow centre and white petals. Visit the Grapes Hill Community Garden website to find out more.

Planting daffodil bulbs

First Medlars

I've eaten my first Medlars, courtesy of a fellow allotment holder.You leave them to "blet" (go soft) and then eat them. Mine were raw and tasted of cooked apple with hints of apricot and date - delicious! I'm thinking of buying my own tree.

 

Medlar

Winter Arrives

Winter has arrived in the last week, with snow, ice and, on a more cheerful note, Waxwings. (87 Waxwings yesterday afternoon in sycamore trees by The Avenues / Colman Road junction in Norwich).

Waxwings

The allotments are under a blanket of snow.