Another Day, Another Walk

Exactly the same but different. I left home early once again, enjoyed the way the day dawned, then found some little details that interested me on my homeward journey, just like in my last post. But I headed in the opposite direction and there was no mist. Lets go!

The full moon shone through a sky that was clear as a bell. And that's the name of the thatched cottage, the Old Bell, and long ago it was one of the villages many pubs.

But soon I was heading across the fields beneath a fiery sky. It was at its best a full half-hour before sunrise proper. The tractor ruts were full of ice as a result of all the rain of the past week and the frosty night.

The chaotic lattice of bare branches against the dawn sky made for an unusual photo.

In the opposite direction the skies were more subtle pastel shades and the (almost) full moon was still very visible. There's a firmly held belief among some people that a full moon somehow causes a sharp frost, whereas it is of course the clear sky that makes the moon visible and allows the ground to cool.

 

I don't think I've ever shown you Sheen Mill, once one of several watermills hereabouts and now a posh restaurant. A little further along I saw my first human (and dog) of the day and we congratulated each other on our impeccable taste in being out on this fine morning before continuing in opposite directions.

Eventually the sun rose above the horizon as I marched across a hard-frozen field. Today's early morning sky-show was more or less over.

The low-angled sunlight lit up the tree growing on a small mound, which is actually a Bronze Age burial mound, so it's been greeting the dawn for maybe 3,500 years. 

Old leaves still persist in some of the sheltered hollows and were prettily etched by the frost.

I know this sounds absurd, but I wander over to look at this old man-hole cover every time I pass this way and usually attempt the same photo. This morning there was just enough frost to pick out some of the details while allowing the rich colours to still be seen. Little things....

And, at this time of year at least, I keep an eye open for this little clump of snowdrops which is usually among the earliest to bloom. Spring can't be too far off.

Aha! Another little sunrise, courtesy of a boot-print frozen into the mud! It must be time this crazy old fellow went home. But before I go here's a few photos from last week when my brother and I took the short drive from his house to Fen Drayton Lakes for a spot of bird watching.....

There was a lot more "lake" than usual and we couldn't even get to the car park as the approach road was under water. We followed everyone else's example and parked by the roadside and gazed across the flooded fields.

Among the large flock of Greylag Geese were three or four White-Fronted Geese. As you can see it's just the front of the head that is white. There are always a few of these migratory geese that come to the East of England every year, but they usually stay on the coast where they join the huge flocks of Pink-Footed Geese. This year, for some reason only so far known to the geese themselves, they've come further inland. If they'd just come a bit nearer to the camera we'd all be happy!

This must be something like the whole of the fens used to look every winter before all the drainage schemes were completed. Happily for those who live in Fenland the floods are confined to a few wild areas and, apart from a few flooded roads, life is able to go on as normal.

A birder's list: 

Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB (flooded)      29/01/2021

Distance walked:  3.6 miles

Birds seen: Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, Rook, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Black-Headed Gull, Yellowhammer, Blackbird, Fieldfare, Redwing, Lapwing, Robin, Cetti's Warbler (heard), Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Dunnock, Cormorant, White-Fronted Goose, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Goldeneye, Coot, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Teal, Pochard, Shoveler, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Green Woodpecker, Wigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, House Sparrow.

Animals: Rabbit.

Take care.