Saturday 30 July 2011

Early morning by the river

One morning this week I woke up very early and decided to have a walk before breakfast. I set out about 7 a.m., just a short walk down along the river, in the hope I might see an otter, but there were none about this far upstream.

The light glanced off the bank and the water. . .

. . . and I tried to capture the sunlight on the leaves and the boulders mid-stream.

Another neighbour's farm can be glimpsed through the trees, up on "top o' bank".

Our neighbour's house has had his roof ladder on it for quite a while now - two years probably. He reckons Pevsner would now consider it an architectural feature!!!

No Dippers to watch on this occasion, but the swirl of the water captivated me, and I watched a leaf being sucked up in a contra-flow of water against the rocks. It progressed several feet upstream until the swirl of the current captured it and hurled it back towards Carmarthen again.


That scourge of river banks and damp ditches the length of the country has finally reached Carmarthenshire and spread wherever it can. Say what you like about it, but the bees and other insects love it, so it serves a useful purpose. It is, by the way, Himalayan Balsam.


These come in a deep rose pink, a paler pink and pure white forms. It's other country name of "touch-me-not balsam" arises from the exploding seed capsules which ensure it is spread far and wide.


Up the hill and a last glimpse through the trees at the hillside across the valley, where Iron Age feet once trod to and from the hillfort atop it.




Sp. Cantharellus? Dunno - Roger Phillips' site not so as helpful as his books so will have to come back with an ID.

8 comments:

  1. What a wonderful walk. I love that first photo, such a peaceful scene.

    FlowerLady

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  2. The river never disappoints. It is beautiful in all seasons, all times of day. I can usually get one photo that really pleases me.

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  3. Delightful photos, I especially liked the first one.

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  4. A stroll is always better when a river walks beside you.....

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  5. Lovely early morning walk, which i enjoyed second-hand BB. Thanks

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  6. I am drawn to the two photos which show misty landscape framed in dark leaf silhouette. My little camera sometimes delights me with an image rather different than what I perceived through the view-finder.
    Wondering if we have balsam here as a wildflower--you so often give me things to think about!

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  7. Beautiful water photos in the early morning light. I never tire of your river. It changes every time you photograph it.

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  8. What beautiful photos! I had gone to your former blog and found no recent posts, so I am very happy to have stumbled across this new one. We have finally, in the last 2 weeks, gotten off dial-up internet, so I can see your photos easily. Thank you for sharing them!

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

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