We went where the wind took us…

We knew it was going to be blowy, but it was also dry until the afternoon, and I was desperate to get out. My daughter also wanted to photograph birds as part of her degree, and this sort of weather brings us a lot of visitors in need of shelter. This time we saw a pochard and a merganser, neither of which wanted to be photographed! (And what’s new there, you quite rightly ask.)

The plan was to walk along Harbourside until we got to the bit that I think of as Starling Point because it’s reclaimed land, so it doesn’t have an approved name and that’s where the sea tends to come over the edge and well across the path. As you can see here, the wind got up to 45mph a lot faster than we were expecting it to, so Plan A turned smoothly into Plan B, which was to walk the other way around the Harbour where the breakwater is higher. Plan C followed a minute or two later and was to walk along the cycle lane because the waves were coming over the pedestrian path at regular intervals.

All that land's reclaimed, and now the sea wants it back.

Soon after that we moved to Plan D, becaus,e the wind was getting stronger and stronger, and thankfully the Keyhole Tunnel that carries the railway line above the road wasn’t flooded. As we walked back through the park, we stopped to talk to a birdwatcher who had the most amazing camera and he was happy to point out the rare birds. They didin't want to be photographed but the ducks and swan and diving ducks and gees and cormorants and coots were al,l very pleased to see us (and the grain we'd brought with us) and he got some good shots of those so it worked for all of us.

Plan D carried on working nicely till we reached the corner of the car park and realised that the inland lagoon wanted to take the land back too, so we walked along the path by the road while the wind got stronger and stronger. It was literally breathtaking and an important reminder that the sea really isn’t your friend, and the park was reclaimed from the sea when the railway line was built, and it still wants it back more than a hundred years later. Seriously, we kept changing routes because it wasn’t safe, and we won’t go out at all tomorrow because the forecast is for the same thing with added heavy rain. If you are going to the sea at any time, then please, check a good weather forecast and if it says it's risky, then stay home, drink hot chocolate and enjoy some nice biscuits while reading a good book instead! One of mine would fit the bill nicely.

Speaking of the winds, the garden’s on hold but it’s still coming on, and my parcels are gradually making it here. Am I the only one who enjoys tracking them as they come overland from China? If I am, then who cares? It’s still fun and improves my geography. I sneaked out in the pouring rain to put up my new Ritz hotels of bird feeders and my new stone robins and hummingbird wind chimes, but the solar fountain will have to wait until the wind drops and the rain passes.

I never thought I’d be so excited about dustbin day, but our lovely dustbin men are gradually removing all the broken pots I’ve been meaning to sort out and get rid of for a couple of years. They were kind enough to say that they’d take it if I could fit it on top of the bin, and I’m now playing what I can best describe as ‘Bin Jenga.’ I’ve already taped a couple of packs of chocolate digestives in a plastic bag to the lid of the bin because it makes my life so much simpler. A lot of the mud has gone too, so here’s a picture to finish with. See you on Tuesday and till then please take care and accept that sometimes the best place for you is indoors.