Wednesday 13 January 2010

Stumbling in the snow

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I ventured out into the frozen wastes of the marshes yesterday and it wasn’t actually too bad. I didn’t slip or fall at all, which is quite an achievement for me, given the conditions. There was just another couple and ‘Alfie’, their black lab, out at the same time, but they soon got fed up and left me in peace. I even took the camera for an outing!

There were some red-breasted mergansers and a fair sized flock of some other ducks, possibly teal, wigeon, pochard, those type of thing, but I couldn’t get close enough (I’d taken the camera but not the binoculars. Doh!) to get a good look, so left them to it.

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I managed to cross the ‘bridge’ without falling into the burn, which I was pleased about, and when I reached the plucking post, I found some recent remains of some poor creature the buzzard had been snacking on.

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The little streamlets that weave their merry little way around the marshes were largely frozen over, but some have been smashed to reveal the thickness of the ice. I chose my path carefully.

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I didn’t go out today, there is quite a thaw going on, but because of the depth of ice, the water is sitting on top, making it even more slippery. I’ve got to go to a Ceilidh on Saturday, I need to at least arrive in one piece. If I arrive damaged, I won’t be able to dance. Now, there’s an idea, armchair Ceilidh. The best kind!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed reading your blog. I write about similar things in my Nature and Places blog. Have a good ceilidh!

Anonymous said...

Hi Louise, thanks for having a look at my blog and getting back to me! I saw a beautiful fieldfare in our garden this morning following two redwings here the other day. Cheers, Andy.

Anonymous said...

Hi Louise. I found you via Andy's blog. Mine is similar but based around St Ives in Cornwall.
It's looking very picturesque up there with all that snow but hard on the wildlife. We have had very little snow down here and it is now warming up quite nicely.
Richard