A Walk Along Shepard's Bridge

Today, Carole and I went for a walk along Shepard's Bridge. I took the camera with me and there were a few things worth photographing though many did not come out too well. Still with today's photo tech one just scrubs the shot off of the memory card and starts again. I managed to get a cormorant on the cable line and then flying off.

Also, I saw a bird of prey (Common Buzzard) being harassed by crows and seagulls. I'm fast learning that when I see a group of carrion squawking excitedly; it is usually because a bird of prey is within the territory. They gang up and try to hustle the raptor away.

It usually works, but I think they have to be a little careful when doing this. They seem more manoeuvrable then raptors but they only need to get swiped once by the talons and the particular carrion bird will be heading downwards and endgame.

My pictures of the buzzard, hiding in the tree, were not worthy of putting on the blog. The distance needed better patience and each shot looked blurred due to the lens wobble. I got a couple of the buzzard flying off with carrion in pursuit, but again at distance.

After a while we got to Shepard's Bridge and had a look about. Nothing much was happening and although the day was bright, the winter had a chill bite. Not great for January, but just enough to let us know we were in winter.

If You Get Up Early Mother Nature Will Blow You A Kiss

Having just got over the Christmas Bank Holidays, our bin collection dates are all out of sequence. We are collecting Monday's on a Wednesday etc.When this happens we do something called 'catch up.' This means we come in on Saturdays to catch up for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. This involves three following Saturdays on Overtime to make the days go back in order of rotation.

This Saturday 9th January 2016, the alarm went off and I thought, "Errrrrrr - Saturday and getting up for work." Our job always gives us Saturday and Sunday off and we do a rotating rest day between Monday to Friday. A four day week. We do long days when in work, but it is all out door in the countryside most of the time or in pleasant country hamlets. Its a very agreeable job and with great work mates. It's just these odd Saturdays when one is a little spoilt to not working weekends. When that alarm call comes in the winter, one doesn't always get up with great aplomb if you get my meaning.

Still - get up - I did. The shower soon washed the cobwebs away and into to work I went. We were scheduled to do a small village called 'Friday Bridge.' in the Fenland. The approach has open fields. Our driver Alex commented on one shinning star up in the morning darkness. We reasoned it was probably a planet. Using his phone app he was able to point the screen towards the one shinning tiny orb and his screen lit up with stars that would be there if all was clearer. What an amazing app. We were able to learn instantly that it was Saturn.

Feeling pleased with ourselves we got out and began to load the bins of Friday Bridge. We had a helper from another department called Lloyd (Loading bins in picture) and all three of us were marvelling at how great the sky looked in the dawn. The clouds seemed to be of many colours and to the north we could see the sky looked tempest as though rain might come. However, where we were, the climate was agreeable. Especially for January in winter.

I commented on how I did not fancy getting up on a Saturday morning but seeing the sky was all worth it as Alex and I were clicking our mobile phone cameras. Lloyd was laughing at us and our uplifting view on the wonderful morning. In the Fens you can see for miles across the flat drained marshlands that are rich in agriculture. Everywhere are farms and neat lines of distant trees running along the dike networks. All bare and bleak looking. We know that spring is not far off and in a few weeks this will all change.

Alex laughed and said. "See! If you get up early enough - Mother Nature Will Blow You a Kiss."

We all laughed and set about our task of clearing the inhabitants of Friday Bridge's bin garbage.

Just another day in the Fenland, but when one looks up into the sky and out across all the surrounding fields; I realise my lot in the world is a rather fortunate one.