A sunny day at Ellingham Mill

A day of pottering at Ellingham Mill yesterday. Water flow is so low that none is going over the sluices so the launch point is completely current free and fine for children to mess about from...

Bee Orchid probably growing on a mole hill

More stuff around the garden

Just the one plant

Growing mostly in the shade

A walk around the garden

First real day of Spring. Cloudless sky, gentle breeze, probably over 22degC. There are a few Violets

Acres of Forget me nots

Lots of Ransoms or Wild Garlic

Cowslips

Lesser Celandines

Primroses

And more Forget Me Nots

Hundred River outflow at three pumps

Hundred River outfall Kessingland 3 pumps from Petro Dobromylskyj on Vimeo.

We've had a couple of days of heavy rain with a background high water table. The Waveney is well above it's flood level of 0.9m and is currently around 1.2m. So a lot of water needs to be pumped out from the Hundred River over the sea wall at Kessingland. Children and I walked down the beach to have a look. We were all suitably impressed.

Last day of Feb, soon be Spring

We had a little snow. This is from yesterday, 28th of Feb. Hard to imagine we had lunch on the patio last Sunday!

Our friends' sheep were not best impressed

Today the East wind has set in, it's rather more unpleasant outside and not so aestheically pleasing with all the snow blown off the trees. Lots of work to keep thawed water and food available for the sheep and chickens.

Good sunny day at home

Spring is on its way in the garden

Lost a few trees in the Winter storms

And the polytunnel too



Still, Snowdrops looking good...

Wainford Sluice at a nice level

This is Wainford Mill sluice, pretty well at ideal play boating level. There was between 0.55m and 0.65m on the Billingford gauge when I took this clip
 
Wainford with 0.6ish on the gauge from Petro Dobromylskyj on Vimeo.

Brief stop at Billingford Bridge

It rained all day on 27th of December and the river height peaked at 0.79m by mid day today, the 28th, on the Billingford Gauge. This is just enough to cover some decent areas of water meadow further down stream.

By the gauge it was just bank high:

The gauge itself was fairly washed out, just a small slope to what looks like a non holding stopper

Christmas day 2017

Christmas Day was mild and breezy. Four second exposure through a rather grubby window!

This little clip gives some idea of how the tree was moving:
Wild Christmas lights from Petro Dobromylskyj on Vimeo.

Billingford to Scole and back yesterday

First day of sun on the water. Fantastic.

Shotford to Mendham and back

Still cool and grey but it's getting late in the Spring so it's time to paddle, downstream from Shotford launch point to Mendham Weir, against a brisk NE wind then back up to the starting point with a following breeze to help up the shingle riffles.

North shore of the Blyth Estuary

High water on the Blyth a couple of days ago. Just walked south on the footpath on the west bank of Wolsey's Creek. Nice out of the wind when the sun shone... Most of the water is less than a foot deep at the top of the tide.


High Water on the Blyth Estuary from Petro Dobromylskyj on Vimeo.

Mouse in Reydon Wood

A few more flowers from Reydon Wood

This Yellow Archangel was looking very fresh and colourful

As was the Violet

And the Selfheal

Wood Amenomes in Reydon Wood

Reydon Wood Early Purple Orchids

A bright and blustery day in the shelter of Reydon Wood, looking for Early Purple Orchids. They're there.

This one just getting started

And this one must have been one of the first to flower

Winks Meadow yesterday

Got to Winks Meadow yesterday and the Green Winged Orchids are out:

Weybread Weir dried out

The automated sluice control at the main face of Weybread Weir is out of action so the main drop is dry:

Which means the river bed is dry below the weir, looking upstream from the footbridge

or downstream from the bridge

All of the water is going over the old lock sluice, just possible as a bump and scrape with a serious lean back...

It was nice to get a decent look at the structure



close to