Posted in Birds, Nature, Uncategorized, tagged birds, Nature, weather, winter on January 19, 2013 | 25 Comments »
Song thrush (Turdus philomelos) in the snow…
Snow is a rarity here in Cardiff, as it is a city warmed by trade and industry on the soft south coast of Wales. So when we do get snow, I am soon out in the garden with my camera – even though there is not a lot to see.
The snow fell yesterday, but I saw it in the garden only as (more…)
Posted in Nature, Uncategorized, tagged Nature, photography, weather on July 29, 2012 | 11 Comments »
Blue skies over Penarth Pier – although this was a winter sky, in December 2009…
Blue skies, nothing but blue skies…
Since the jetstream moved north again a couple of weeks ago and summer arrived at last, I can’t get that song out of my head. Here’s the version by Frank Sinatra…
We had maybe a fortnight of dazzling blue skies and scorching sun here in Wales but now it’s turned changeable again. Which is the way I like it, as it (more…)
Posted in Gardening, Nature, Uncategorized, tagged Gardening, Summer, weather on July 18, 2012 | 12 Comments »
Wet pelargonium in the garden in summer 2012 – more plant pictures later in this post…
As anyone living in the UK will tell you, it has been one awful summer – cold for the time of year and wet, wet, wet.
Although March and May were dry, June and July have been so bad that (more…)
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized, tagged Gardening, weather, winter on December 10, 2011 | 10 Comments »
A sweetgum leaf (Liquidamar styraciflua) on frosted Cotoneaster horizontalis...
Today has been the coldest day of the winter so far, with ice on the birdbath first thing. There was also a wonderful delicate frosting on the tiny evergreen leaves of the Cotoneaster horizontalis.
This is surely (more…)
Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized, tagged Gardening, Spring, weather on May 8, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Blue Hosta
It was a very dry April and the garden was very pleased to have some proper rain this weekend.
Whenever the weather changes like this, I sing a bit of Rain Rain Beautiful Rain by Ladysmith Black Mambazo…
Here are a few pictures of the plants drinking it all in.
Old-fashioned pansy
Convallaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley) - as seen in Princess Kate Middleton's bridal bouquet
Posted in History, Nature, Photography, Trees, Uncategorized, Wales, tagged History, Monmouthshire, Nature, photography, Trees, weather, winter on January 6, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Tree (beech?) in a field beside the red muddy Wye at Monmouth
In the dark, damp days between Christmas and New Year, once the snow had cleared enough for us to get out of the house, we went for a drive in rural Monmouthshire (my home county).
I took my camera, despite the lack of good daylight, and snapped a few odds and ends in Usk, on the grey muddy river of the same name, and at Monmouth, where the Monnow meets the red muddy Wye.
Henry V statue on Monmouth Shire Hall - he was born in Monmouth Castle on August 9, 1387 (probably) and the statue was placed on the Shire Hall in 1792
Posted in Birds, Nature, Trees, Uncategorized, tagged birds, Nature, Trees, weather, winter on December 18, 2010 | 8 Comments »
Carrion crow on a distant tree in the snow today...
Little did I think I would be spending all my time blogging about the weather these last few weeks, but (more…)
Posted in Gardening, Nature, Uncategorized, tagged Gardening, Nature, Trees, weather, winter on December 7, 2010 | 6 Comments »
Posted in Art & Design, Uncategorized, Words, tagged art, design, weather, winter, Words on December 5, 2010 | 7 Comments »
Although this is called Frost, I think it looks more like black ice - excellent, anyway. It's by Jenny Leigh...
Cats like to feel they are cool - but maybe not so cool when walking on ice - art by Cypherx
The weather theme in Britain this weekend has been black ice caused after a recent snowfall, thaw, and then freezing fog.
So I thought I would look at the sometimes sexy imagery of “black ice” in art and design.
In reality, black ice is nasty stuff – it’s a thin, unexpected and usually invisible coating of ice on roads and paths. And it doesn’t take much rain, drizzle or even just fog to coat a surface enough to cause this hazard.
I wonder if (more…)
Posted in Birds, Nature, Uncategorized, tagged birds, Nature, weather, winter on November 27, 2010 | 4 Comments »
Snow on Liquidambar tree - November 27, 2010
It is only late November but Britain is having its first snows of the winter. I wasn’t expecting any in Cardiff as it’s a bit unusual in this warm city.
But yesterday afternoon the large flakes began to fall and we had a light covering of snow by nightfall. Some of it turned to slush, then froze overnight, but this morning bright sun and a brisk easterly breeze have shaken off and melted most of it.
Still, I couldn’t (more…)
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