A Rainy Weekend…Again

As I type this, the song ‘”The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore” by the Walker Brothers is playing on the radio which is appropriative for the kind of weather we’ve been getting this year so far especially over the weekends.  Yesterday I was determined to get out, if only for a walk and despite it raining when I left home, I headed out to one of my favourite locations.  The weather forecasters predicted the rain to clear early on so I timed my arrival for then – of course it was still raining when I arrived.  Not deterred, I had a walk around and had borrowed a camcorder to have a bit of fun with.  As it happens, it turned out a good way of showing how often in the woods you can spot deer but of the difficulty of actually photographing them. Below is a short video I took of a typical sighting of Roe Deer  that I came across, showing the problems of not getting a clear view and how easily they can disappear. They are remarkably well hidden in the woods with their drab colour and it’s often only their movement or white rump that will give them away.  The image on the right was taken in my usual way which is sitting down with my back against a tree, overlooking an open area which I know they often will pass or cross over.  However this takes a lot of patience…and luck!

Continuing my walk there seemed to be more to see in the flooded fields at the wood edges with large numbers of Swans and Geese making the most of the opportunities supplied by the large bouts of rainfalls of recent weeks.  Large parts of the woods themselves were flooded and had become very marshy.  After over an hour after the forecasters said it would stop raining, it did however in the woods it still felt like it was raining as all the water collected in the top of the trees and branches dripped down. It was very quiet about with little stirring apart from my stomach as I had missed breakfast.  I couldn’t help but think back to the story books you would get as a child where animals lived in little comfy homes with  a log fire, pictures on the wall etc., and that’s where they were on this cold, damp morning, while muggins here was wandering around in the elements.

Some signs of a possible early arrival of spring as I came across some Snowdrops which came as a bit of a surprise as it seems such a long winter, though I think this may be a bit optimistic, barely being mid way through February and a forecast of another spell of cold weather for the next few weeks. Towards the end of the walk I came across some signs that there had been some activity by Foxes as shown by this fresh Fox scat.