Longer days

The days really are getting longer. I left work at 5.15 pm this afternoon, and twenty minutes later I was at Sandside able to photograph the dying light reflected in the Kent estuary. In the distance on the left we see the tapering hill of Arnside Knott and the lights of Arnside beckoning me home. The estuary was still full after high tide and there was barely any movement in the water. It's been noticeable that the flow into the estuary from the River Kent has been much lower than might usually be expected - the water is still frozen in the snow and ice up in the south eastern fells of the Lake District.

I thought this blip was going to be another lament for again missing the Kendal Three at lunchtime, with a compensatory photograph of a grey wagtail or dipper. This time I was accompanied by Brokenbanjo and Outtakes, and predictably, people stopped to tell us they had seen them over the weekend. It's not just me who's been missing out, my fellow blippers KenPetch and flumgummery were both on the river in Kendal at different times over the weekend. I suppose no-one can blame me for building up the expectations of others, I haven't counted the number of times in the last three months that I have been in the right place at the wrong time, but it must be more than a dozen if not twenty.

There won't be an otter blip or a not an otter blip tomorrow, as I shall be in Manchester again all day. Back on the river on Thursday.

As for Valentine's Day, this view would have been a suitable one to share with Wifie, but she is out this evening. The best part of working in Kendal is the drive to and from work along the estuary at Sandside. Somehow it feels like we live on an island connected to the mainland by a causeway.

A year ago: Mr Brock drinks from a pitcher.