The first frost of the season showed itself on the morning of the 2nd of December! As you are probably aware this is very late for a first “proper” frost and many of our garden plants are still in flower because of the mild weather.
Furthermore, here are some lovely frost scenes taken around the Wombrook area:
With the weather being rather harsh over in Scandinavia, there has been quite an invasion of Waxwings into the UK!
They are winter migrants and arrive virtually every year in the UK to get away from the freezing conditions of the arctic circle. This year is no exception and luckily for birdwatchers alike, due to the extreme weather facing where they spent their summer up in the frozen north, many more than usual have flown down to the UK to stock up on winter berries (Or tree buds, as it seems the berries have suffered from the extreme cold too!)
The photos above have been taken today (08.01.11), on the corner of Clent View Road and The Broadway in Stourbridge. If you are wishing to see them, they are likely to still be in the area, as locals say that they have been around for the last 2 days. Be patient though, you could be waiting for up to 20 minutes as they have been scouring the area for the best sources of food!
This multi-coloured fibreglass model of a rhino would be an unlikely sight at the best of times, but the city of Chester has in the region of 60 + models located in and around the city.
‘Rhino Mania‘ is an interesting initiative which not only brings an endangered species to prominence, but engages local groups in an engaging art project. Could a similar event be staged within Wombourne to promote the plight of the water vole?
For further information about ‘Rhino Mania‘ , please click on this LINK.
..the above scene was familiar for some months from the centre of Wombourne, and visible from the Wom Brook Walk. Taken in February 2007, it shows the crane used during the building of Wom Brook Court.
For the second year in succession, parts of the surface of the Brook in Wombourne, South Staffordshire have turned to ice due to temperatures registering below -5 Celsius last week. Snow falling onto this ice has left parts of the Brook resembling scenes more reminiscent of northern Canada! Despite a welcome warming in the temperature yesterday, ice was still visible along the edges of the Brook.
Elsewhere in Wombourne, stretches of the canal have been frozen since before New Year’s Day.
The above scene has become a familiar sight over the last week wherever a slope exists around Wombourne. Perhaps one of the most popular venues for sledging within reach of the village is Pickerel’s Hill (apologies if the spelling is inaccurate), visible from the Wombourne roundabout on the A449 Wolverhampton to Stourbridge Road. The particular steep gradient there attracts many snow sport enthusiasts.
The above slope close to the centre of Wombourne is less challenging, but still attracts many local families.
Snow has become a common feature of village life for over a week now, with possibly more showers on the way.
A walk along the canal tow path from Awbridge Locks (photographed above-grid ref: SO 860 948) south towards Bratch Locks will pass several trees and tree-stumps which have had the adornments fixed to them representing faces.
A representative from British Waterways said that the faces started to mysteriously appear shortly after maintenance work had been completed along that section of the Staffordshire & Worcester Canal.
Can you help to solve this mystery?
Do you know who originated this rather unique practice?
This image was photographed on the outskirts of Wombourne. Have you seen it? If you have, please leave a comment below as to its whereabouts. Over the weekend, its location will be revealed.
The above photograph, taken looking north down from the ascending Greenhill road in Wombourne towards Gravel Hill, epitomises an autumn scene. Although not technically representing anything directly to do with the Wom Brook, the Walk or the wildlife of the Brook, it does show the outlying landscape that surrounds one of the entrances to the Wom Brook Walk (arrowed). Where the road leads off to the left (Common Road), a stone wall ends at the start of the footpath that leads to the footbridge over the Brook, and to the distinctive oak gate posts that mark the beginning of that particular stage of the Wom Brook Walk.
Bright sunny days particularly enhance the spectacular spectrum of greens, yellows and browns of the leaves, each colour signifying a different stage in this particular sycamore’s leaf-shedding process.
Smog is a word derived from combining two words-smoke and fog. Historically the word is synonymous with the air pollution reputedly responsible for an estimated 4000 respiratory – linked deaths in the London area during the 1950s, when the smoke at that time from so many coal fires combined with fog, and with little or no wind, this hung over the capital for several days, partially obscuring the sun.
Today’s dense fog was mixed the stale smell of smoke which hung in the air around Wombourne-the aftermath of a feast of festive fireworks, and the annual Himley bonfire-which last night brought the inevitable road congestion along the A449 Wolverhampton-Stourbridge Road.
This morning the visibility range along the Wom Brook in Wombourne extended to 50 metres and no more. Strange shapes loomed out of the gloom that seemed to saturate everywhere. The accompanying all-enveloping silence was only punctuated by the nervous call of blackbirds, warning other birds away from their territory-almost like ships and lighthouses do in similar weather conditions.
It remains to be seen whether another two nights of possible fireworks displays will cause a repeat of this morning’s ‘smog’!