What's the Weather Like Today ?

Way back in the 60's a band called Hedgehoppers Anonymous had a hit record called Good News Week.
Don't ask me how I know this when I mostly can't remember what day it is, but, the refrain was 'what's the weather like today? '  and this piece of useless information just popped into my memory during my walk this morning when I passed this sign opposite the Black Bull Garage . Don't know who John is but I might have to find out !

Nearly forgot !

Just off to bed but realised I had forgotten to blog - don't want to fall at the 7th hurdle !
 It has been a very windy, rainy though not particularly chilly day. I did go out for a walk but didn't take any pics. Instead I decided to blog one of the plaster casts I did at the same time as my Green man. This plaque is about 28cm wide and I made it in the bottom of a washing up bowl !

As you can see, he still has clay marks on the surface. I was going to wash them off but I quite like the look. I am going to add areas of greenish paint - I have some Lumiere which might be good. Afterwards I plan to acrylic wax him to give some protection from the elements before he goes outside .

A walk in Wetherby

Walked today with a friend - our usual monthly meet - and, in fact,  for what has become our usual Winter walk.
Between Wetherby and Spofforth is a disused railway track. It was originally built as a station on the Leeds - Harrogate route in 1902 but was one of the victims of the Beeching axe of the 1960's. A headline of the time referring to the cut, which involved several other stations on the route said 'First Lamb to the Beeching Axe ' !
Whatever its history, the redundant track has become a welcome route for cyclists, dog walkers and (r)amblers such as my friend and I. Its cinder base is walkable in all weathers and its hedges and edges have become a haven for wild flowers and birds - and presumably other livestock, though we haven't seen any of those .
We saw a tiny tit pecking at the crab apples still hanging from one of the wayside trees and though I attempted to photograph it, I'm afraid my equipment is not up to the job. I ended up with quite an atmospheric view of the sky and part of the tree. You will have to take my word for it that the tit was indeed pecking - it is behind the lowermost bunch of fruit on the right of the photo.

Just to show you that the weather wasn't quite as dismal as it looks here, I took another picture of the
whole tree .

Green Man

I have had rather a run, so to speak, on Green Men lately and last October I went on a course to make both a  plaster cast Green Man and a clay one to be fired. I have eventually got the clay one up on the wall outside my back door, though I think I might have to find a better screw - it has the look of Frankenstein about it ! I haven't done anything with either of the plaster casts I made, though I did incorporate a wire hanger in one of them. I think I may use some paint on that one and then varnish it as I have a feeling that plaster eventually dissolves in the rain. If it doesn't work, they could always join the grotesque I sculpted in the summer and live in the sitooterie !

Hurrah for Marmalade !

On my walk this morning I was cheered to see on the noticeboard outside the greengrocer this announcement of the arrival of Seville Oranges, complete with little brochures of information about the oranges and the groves where they are grown.
I am a big fan of homemade bitter marmalade and the oranges to make it are one of the few truly seasonal delights left in these global food market days !

They rank along with pink rhubarb (Yorkshire of course, not the Dutch stuff which infiltrated our market in December ) and Evesham Asparagus .
I don't often make my own marmalade (too easy to be a glutton ) but know that the ladies from the Methodist church will be a-shredding and a-boiling so I will be able to buy proper homemade jars from them !

Winter Cheer

This morning I walked around the Churchyard and was delighted to see snowdrops and aconites pushing through the leaf litter. Those of you in the 'soft' south have no doubt been enjoying these flowers for weeks, but for us who are north (ish) they are newly arrived and very welcome !
I came home to inspect my own garden but though the leaves of the snowdrops are poking through, there are no flowers as yet, and of my aconites not a sign. Do hope I haven't killed them off with last years garden changes. The new snowdrops I bought last year at Colesbourne are in a pot so they don't get lost among my common ones and have chance to bulk up a bit before I plant them out. Two of the varieties are growing, with a pleasing number of shoots, but of a third variety there is no sign. The label tells me that it is a double called Titania and that it is mid season. I am taking that to mean that it is not deceased, merely awaiting its season - hope so anyway as I also see from the label that it cost me £6 for a tiny plant !

There is quite a large area of the older part of the Churchyard that is kept as a conservation garden and it will soon be carpeted with snowdrops and aconites, followed by daffodils and crocus then bluebells and a froth of cow parsley in May.

Thwarted walk !

I walked down to the river this morning to see what it was like underfoot - didn't expect what I saw ! We have had gales over the last couple of days, but rain in the wind rather than total cloudbursts. They have obviously had more further up the Dale as you can tell by today's pic - the gate onto the river path !

This shot of the river itself shows our normally placid river turned into a torrent .