Category Archives: Weather

Ouse overflow - monochrome

My Walk this Week – Colour or Monochrome Flood

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My walk this week follows a flood – not so much follows in fact, more dictated. The River Ouse in York regularly floods if there is a lot of rainfall in the area or up river and when I was there at the start of April the rain was teeming down across the country. I took the earliest opportunity when the rain stopped to check out the watery scene.

Ouse Flood 2

I was at least able to cross the Millennium Footbridge whereas on a previous occasion I had not even been able to approach the bridge! What caught my eye in particular was the arrangement of objects such as semi submerged bollards, fence reflections and the ghost image of the footpath as it curved round under the water.

In looking back at the photos I couldn’t decide whether I preferred them in colour or monochrome, so they are both included below – all except the curved footpath shot because in monochrome the path was completely hidden.

Millennium Bridge York
Muddy waters
Ouse overflow
Arrangement of bollards
Fence reflection
Hidden Footpath

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Millennium Bridge – monochrome
Muddy monochrome waters
Ouse overflow – monochrome
Arrangement of monochrome bollards
monochrome reflection
ducks enjoying the rain

And The Rain Began to Fall

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Near the end of my walk this week we approached the double walled kitchen garden of the National Botanic Garden of Wales and as we walked through it towards the hothouse and the butterflies, the rain began to fall. Not too heavy at first so I was able to get a couple more photos before going inside, but while we enjoyed looking at the few large butterflies fluttering around at this time of year, the rain really started coming down and the noise of stair rods hitting the glass roof was noticeable to say the least.

the rain came down

So we took more time in the hothouse than perhaps we might have done but our wait for the rain to subside was futile and we eventually put up our hoods and ventured out towards the entrance and car park. The ducks seemed happy enough!

The sound clip below does not relate to this and I realise in writing this that my habit of posting a soundscape at the end of the week has a flaw. If I only have a sound clip rather than an edited soundscape, then the sound will only be from one particular part of my walk and give no sense of progression or change of environment or conditions. So the clip below should have been posted at the beginning of the week when we were inside the Great Glass House (so I have posted it there now as well as below). It was busy with people and birds all enjoying Mothers Day – mothers perhaps because it was Mothers day and a visit to the NBGW on what was a nice day at the time included a craft fair and the birds because their were plenty of crumbs to be had around the cafe area.

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NBGW kitchen garden gates
fish sculpture
raindrops on water
soft bud
hothouse butterfly
hothouse leaf
butterfly on display
the rain came down
ducks enjoying the rain

Running Away (from a dark day?)

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As we came out of the Great Glass House at the National Botanic Garden of Wales on my walk this week, I looked at the impending weather and took a couple of shots. I had noticed the family in the middle ground but only realised the symmetry of the children running away from each other as part of a game after I had taken the photo.

Running Away

Those dark clouds did catch up with us but not at this point in our walk when I was still interested in the growth andContinue reading→

water freeze

My Walk this Week – Icy Textures

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My walk this week is another cold one around the lake at The Waterside – Felindre. It was very icy and the range of textures within that ice was fascinating. We had been led to believe there would be snow but as you can see, the forecasts were wrong for this little pocket of the country and a light dusting was all we got.

The Waterside in Winter

This was another short walk as my hands felt as though they would fall off with the cold and it was only a new pair of gloves knitted by my daughter that allowed me take the photos. Taking a close look at the various ice formations revealedContinue reading→

frozen woodland bog

Frozen!

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The rest of the UK had snow but our little pocket of the country somehow managed to avoid it and so my walk this week was freezing but no more than that. The images of frozen water below may not be as dramatic  as some of those to be found in countries closer to the arctic circle, but they are different to our normal situation here in South West Wales where, since taking these photos, we have returned to rain!

Frozen surface

My walk this week was, however, one I had not taken before and although short, allowed me to view an area that combinesContinue reading→

tree moss and ice

My Walk this Week – Freezing Over

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My walk this week braves the bitter wind blowing across Britain from Siberia. I have never seen ice like this on our local river, the Afon Dulais, but despite this and the fact that the rest of the country was under thick snow, we had next to none of it! The “beast from the east” and Storm Emma brought high winds and bitter cold but we were disappointed not to  get any snow when seemingly all around us a colour, texture and acoustic change was taking place across the land.

Afon Dulais ice

Never mind, despite the ice feeling like it was inside my fingers, I still enjoyed my walk and the sights and sounds were still different to normal, but more of that later in the week. There was still someContinue reading→

Squall

Herded by Cows and a Squall

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At the start of my walk this week I mentioned my caution regarding cows and how I cut off across the top of the hill to avoid them. But they were having none of that and following a sudden squall of hailstones I was persuaded yet again to take an alternative route back down the hill.

cows

The fast changing weather provided me with a range of lighting effects and I found myself blinded by the light one moment and then wowed by the hailing clouds over Swansea Bay the next. It was still very cold and although this wasn’t a long walk,Continue reading→

Lichen

Lichen and a Dry Stone Wall

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Sheltering unsuccessfully from the bitter winter wind by a dry stone wall on the Swansea uplands I took a moment to admire the lichen and thought about how it looks as though someone has illustrated it in pen and ink.

lichen on dry stone wall

I had been persuaded by a herd of cows to cut across the top of Mynydd Gelli instead of circumnavigating it at a lower contour.Continue reading→