Febuary 2019 was the hottest on record, with tempratures of up to 20C. I don’t think Febuary 2021 will be a hot one.

We have blue sky and sunshine where I am today. This isn’t going to last. The Beast From The East MkII is on it way. Or you could say that we are going to have some snow just like we had in the old days. If you can’t remember the old days, or you weren’t around, the best you can do is look at some graphs or listen to old people going on about how “we used to have four seasons”.

If the snow comes I’ll let you know. What we have had is lots of rain, not that I’ve noticed where I am. Rivers have burst their banks and this means that swans, duks, and geese are in places where you’d not normally find them. And I had my camera!

The floods have made me change my cycle routes and have a look around, so I don’t know what the waterfowl was like before, but they looked pleased to see me. I’ve learned that these geese will give you great shots if you’re willing to wait.

I spotted something new and had to look it up:

I needed to Google this duck. It turns out that it’s native to South America and this one either escaped from captivity or descended from captive ducks just like the mandarin duck. When I was looking them up on YouTube I found out that they have a good bit of meat on them and watched on being slaughtered, which is what happens when you’re a bird with good meat on you. Either way he/she looks happy on the times I’ve been down the river.

At this time of year and with the weather we’ve been having there hasn’t been very much sun and it was good to top up on some rays. And knowing that there’s a storm coming it becomes even more importand to get out and about – in the mud. I’ve ridden through lots of mud in the last week and after the snow and rain on the way, this isn’t going to improve. Only time will tell if the conditions remain as good weather for ducks (and geese, and swans). For the moment, all I care about is taking good photos.