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Sky light at Halloween

31/10/2021

Skylight: raincloud with winged birch seed

Out of the darkness before dawn comes a whistling wind, seeking slits in the window frame. Window, the eye of the wind. The haunting note drowns out the sounds of the rain.
Dawn is held back, reluctant. The skylight window pane is awash. The wind whips the tall birch, slaps leaves and winged seeds against the glass.
Clouds lour and, for a moment, lighten. The rain halts and blackbirds appear in the birch trees. Where were they in the wild time? The whistling wind is gone but the sky grows darker, presaging rain.

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The River Kent in spate

30/10/2021

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Blind Beck by Abbot Hall

All morning the rain fell unceasingly, after days and days of heavy rain. At mid-day the sun appeared and, knowing the RIver Kent must be brimful, I walked down into Kendal to see.
Blind Beck runs close by Abbot Hall, draining water off Scout Scar, off the limestone and down through the town to the river. After a prolonged period of rain there's an audible rush of water through stone channels between houses, down to the river, a magnet during a brief respite from the rain.

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Solway, where history and natural history meet

15/10/2021

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Alavna Roman Fort, 1147 miles from Rome

Solway is rich in history and natural history, so there are choices. We might head for the shore and look across to Scotland or seek out fish traps, saltpans and mile fortlets on the line of Hadrian’s wall. Today the weather is perfect and there's the lure of the Solway moss and salt marsh with the call of lapwing and curlew and coastal vistas.
Solway signposts flag-up history. Yesterday, we visited the museum at Alavna Roman Fort, north of Maryport, 1147 miles from Rome. Although Spanish legionaries stationed here might have yearned to know how far they were from home.

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The red deer rut, Patterdale

13/10/2021

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Red deer stag

During the rut, the stags bellow so loudly you might think it's easy to see them. Different stags try to out-bellow each other and the sound echoes over the fellsides swathed is fine mist and their rich red hides blend into the vegetation. Groups of hinds are scattered over scree and in gullies, feeding and moving little. A stag positions himself up on a ridge and throws back his head and bellows to impress his hinds. Bands of sunlight rove over the fells and we wait for the sun to flood over the gullies we are watching, to illuminate stags and hinds.

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Mist over the Lyth Valley and Morecambe Bay

10/10/2021

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Looking west toward the fells, from Scout Scar

From Scout Scar escarpment I looked down upon flowing mist aglow with sunlight and hovering over floodwaters down in the Lyth Valley. To the west, I heard geese flying high, and calling from distant flooded pastures.
South toward Morecambe Bay, the Kent Estuary was illuminated under a pall of radiant mist. A dome of blue sky lingered over Scout Scar on a glorious morning.

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October skies and floodwater in the Lyth Valley

8/10/2021

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October sunrise with Kendal Castle left of image

October sunrise catches the pall of mist defining the River Kent as it flows through Kendal. A flock of jackdaw is shrill. Trees are still in full green but, if you know Kendal Castle, you can make out its shadowy outline amongst the trees. Autumn sunrise over the river is a favourite thing of mine. And it's ephemeral, constantly changing and all over in half an hour- sometimes the most beautiful moment of the day

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Scout Scar in October sun

7/10/2021

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Blue skies over the fells

A brighter outlook today. Heavy rains have cleaned windows, naturally, and blue skies are patterned with fine white cloud. Who would not feel light of heart on such a morning after days of unrelenting rain?
A debris of leafy branches tells of wind and rain. But rain fell on such parched ground that the limestone has soaked it away and there is neither mud nor puddles. Once I crest the Scout Scar ridge I know I'll see floodwaters down in the Lyth Valley, best seen on a fair day like this, after downpours. The morning is calm and sunny, growing warm enough to tempt a red admiral to flutter onto brambles. There are flocks of goldfinch and the call of the raven.

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Sky light at Halloween

The River Kent in spate

Solway, where history and natural history meet

The red deer rut, Patterdale

Mist over the Lyth Valley and Morecambe Bay

October skies and floodwater in the Lyth Valley

Scout Scar in October sun

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