Author Archives: daftmumblings

Finally, a cycle in the sun

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In the brilliant early spring sunshine, I went for my first cycle of the year this afternoon. As the photo below shows, the weather was stunning, with a totally clear blue sky and a bright sun warming my clothing. However, that clothing was still the winter cycling kit as the temperature was only in single figures – but with the sun and some pedalling, I was very toasty.

There weren’t many other signs of spring around; only a few patches of snowdrops in some of the villages and a single field with lambs. The roads were still very wintery with mud in some of the dips and run-off from the waterlogged fields. I’m hoping it won’t be too long until I can swap from road bike to hybrid and head onto the byways and bridleways but I suspect there’ll need to be a long period of dry weather to make the current muddy fields passable.

After doing a lot of night running over the course of winter, now might be the time to move over to cycling in the coming lighter evenings.

Spring arrives with the last of winter

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Meteorological spring has arrived and with it has come some very welcome spring weather. We woke on Saturday to a frost but also blue sky, and the sun stayed out all day. Today, it is much the same and it looks set to stay this way for the coming week. On Saturday we had to get out into the fine weather and, amongst our various stops, we paid a visit to Summer Leys nature reserve. While the weather was spring-like, the wildlife was still very much of the winter, with the waders and wildfowl that have been staying over the colder months.

Unusually for me at the moment, I actually remembered to take my camera with me. Whilst I didn’t get too many shots, I did catch this image of make shovelers chasing a female around a corner of the large lake at the reserve. There were quite a few of them, seemingly stirred into a bout of breeding activity by the change in the weather.

The other image I got was of the glossy ibis which has been frequenting the reserve for many months and attracting a few extra visitors Summer Leys. It was pretty easy to find yesterday, feeding exactly where one of the local bird blogs said it had been.

After a bit of garden work this morning, this afternoon I’m going to head out for my first cycle of the year. I can’t quite believe I haven’t cycled at all so far this year but running is generally my winter exercise activity. Now it’s time to transition back again.

A few hours of spring

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Yesterday we headed over to the Cotswolds for a walk and to buy some cheese. The weather forecast looked set fair and as we drove west from Northamptonshire we could see blue sky ahead of us. Arriving at Bourton-on-the-Water there was the usual chaos at the main car park but we got parked pretty quickly. Even in late February the town is packed of visitors but we soon left them behind as we walked out of the urban area and into the surrounding countryside.

Our walk was a loop from Bourton to the Slaughters and back; only about five miles, but enough to stretch the legs after a week at work. The sun kept appearing from behind springlike fluffy clouds and we could feel a little warmth in its rays. However, there was also a keen cool wind which kept the temperatures down when we were out of the shelter of field walls and hedges.

As we wandered up a long rise we could hear skylarks above our heads and across the fields; the first time we’ve heard them this year. There was also a pair of red kites circling in the wind and hanging above the valley. Eventually, we dropped down the other side of the hill and into Upper Slaughter, the chocolate box village, lit up brightly by the sun.

In Lower Slaughter, after negotiating some muddy fields, we even managed to have lunch outside at the pub, only to then get wet as the rain came down on the last leg back into Bourton.

While the walk was the main purpose of the visit, we had to stop at Stow-on-the-Wold on the way home to visit the excellent cheese shop!

Yesterday was really the first taste of spring we’ve had but today has gone back to winter with strong winds, rain and lower temperatures. We’re still in February, so yesterday was really just a very early bit of springlike weather and I suspect we might have to wait a little longer for some more.

More light in the morning sky

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Almost two weeks on from my last post on this subject and the light has grown a lot as I stand on the station platform on the way to work. It’s now got to the stage where my use of my main beam on my car has reduced significantly as I drive through the countryside and now on the platform, I can see to the far horizon and Borough Hill.

I usually find February the most difficult of months, as we slowly start to move in from the dark and cold winter. This year, however, I haven’t found it so bad and the increasing light is starting to give me more bounce – what I call that positive energy inside me that often disappears during the winter. I’ve been exercising a lot recently which may have helped, with those endorphins raising my mood.

Even more positively, the weather looks good for Saturday and the temperatures are rising, so I’m hoping for an early springtime (almost) walk.

Village starling murmuration

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Yesterday evening as the light was starting to ebb away, we ventured out to see if we could watch the starling murmuration that has started to build above our village.

We had been having glimpses of it on previous nights from our upstairs windows but these were often obscured. So, we walked up through the village and watched the starlings doing their performance.

We weren’t disappointed as the flock was murmurating almost immediately and it continued to grow as the minutes wore on. The flock wheeled above the houses, breaking and reforming many times until they eventually started to fall to a large long bush in a front garden. The chattering in the bush got louder as more and more dropped in for the night.

Snowdrops on a bitter day

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There may have been spring-like signs earlier this week but today winter is very much making its presence felt. There is a keen north-easterly wind bringing cold air that cuts through any gaps in your clothes and chills you to the bone. It’s about 5 Celsius at present with the wind it taking it down to feeling around freezing. To make it look even worse there’s also a dark gloom hanging over us which, according to the forecast, will stick around all week!

This afternoon we ventured out into the cold and gloominess in search of more signs of spring. We found some at the nearby Lamport Hall. Each late winter the grounds are opened at weekends for people to see the display of snowdrops in the woodland and gardens. We haven’t been before but as the photos below show, it’s a very lovely display, even without any sunshine to brighten up the scene.

Slowly returning light

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Standing on the railway station platform this morning, there was a clear sky and light on the horizon. This is the first time this year where there has been more than a smudge of dawn and today there is even an orange hue beneath the growing turquoise.

Not only a the light returning but so far are the sounds of birds. It might be just below freezing but the robins, blackbird and thrushes are all singing their dawn chorus – another first for me this year.

The first signs of spring

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It may only be the 5th February and the temperature hovering around 5 degrees Celsius but with the sun out today there is a very hesitant feeling of early spring down the lane.

I heard a red kite calling overhead and a robin singing away. There are snowdrops scattered about and daffodils sprouting from the ground. Even the fields seem a little greener than they did.

However, despite the slight warmth coming from the sun, the chilling breeze stops too much hopefulness of the coming season building up – and we’re back to frosts tonight.

A shiny winter day

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Today has been one of those cloudless but cold winter days which you long for through the almost endless grey cloudy dreariness of January. The sun seems shockingly bright, especially as it hangs low in the sky, dazzling your eyes and making you squint. The morning started with a slight frost and the temperature barely above freezing. There was a think layer of ice on the puddles and a real nip in the air. A sharp wind occasionally added to the chill but as we went for a walk the sun soon warmed us up as our dark clothes soaked in its rays.

Our walk wasn’t too long, only four miles but it gave us some different views of our local area, having not walked any of the particular paths before. The wildlife was quite quiet but for a flock of winter thrushes in the fields joined by some starlings and an occasional sky lark.

After what seemed like a long and dark week, getting out into the bright daylight was a bit of a tonic – unfortunately back to the greyness tomorrow.