I hate to talk about the weather, it's the most unimaginative
topic of conversation there is, but . . . . . .
it is my opinion that we are now in the wettest drought in living memory.
And still it's the wrong sort of rain!
And not enough of it.
We carefully pick our way along the banks of the overflowing river
and through puddles on the path round the castle.
All those of you who have exclaimed in wonder at the beauty of
the Shropshire Hills in your comments, do you still envy me?
This is what it looks like for a good six months of the year - if you're lucky.
These photos have not been faded or adulterated in any way.
I've had enough . . . . . . .
Somebody, anybody, turn the bloody tap off!
Google in the images tab Texas drought and you will not feel so bad! I am afraid I frequently write about the weather and am generally captivated by it.
ReplyDeleteEh, weather is okay to talk about. You're not where I am, so I am fascinated by the differences in everything. I won't rub it in and say it's beautiful and sunny here at the moment... because it will change in a flash.
ReplyDeletewe got pounded with rain yesterday...perhaps it will break the drought...but i hope not with flooding...
ReplyDeleteThere's talking about the weather. There is moaning about the weather.
ReplyDeleteAre we EVER able to do one without the other in this country? Does Benno give a damn? Doesn't look like it!
It's his/her fault!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHmmm... I wouldn't mind to experience a bit of drought (not the wet kind you are talking about) next week in Yorkshire, but I'm afraid I'll need to have my umbrella with me whenever I leave the house. Still, it doesn't matter too much - I am going to see friends and family, and that is what I am there for.
ReplyDeleteyou live in a beautiful place....wet or dry.
ReplyDeleteOften after wet and rainy spring goes the very dry summer. Who knows what's better?
ReplyDeleteOh no! Up here everyone talks about the weather all the time because it changes so rapidly. If it was the same for six months, I can see why you wouldn't. Sorry about the constant rain. We've had a lot here this spring, but only 2-3 days in a row with a break for a day or two. Rain every day would wear on a person. I'll shout with you--Turn off the bloody tap!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteI can understand this... rain forever restricts activity with cabin fever being the result. Hopefully it will stop sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'm a weather-talker. I love the infinite variability, the unpredictability and the assorted beauties. Like snowflakes, waves and people, no day is exactly the same, and thank goodness for that!
ReplyDeletePart of it, of course, is that weather directly affects my life on a daily basis. Sailors remark every wind shift. Ranchers feel the moisture, just walking across the land, and varnishers feel the rise and fall of humidity. But in the end, I just love the variability.
In fact, that's what made last year's drought so awful, and what may be part of what's getting to you - the same thing, over and over. I didn't quite get to the point of cursing the sun or begging on my knees for rain last year - but I got close!
Hello:
ReplyDeleteWe hate to mention this but......here in Budapest it is sunny with wall to wall blue skies. Temperatures today were in the mid 20Cs and are set to reach 29C by Sunday. At night, temperatures cool to 15C. Holiday?!!!! And we have a castle too!
Well, what do you suppose causes all that greenery for the rare sunny days?
ReplyDeleteOh, you have my sympathy dear Friko....we humans need sunshine and blue skies....go ahead talk about the weather....sometimes I go on and on about long winter dreary skies and no color ....
ReplyDeletedoes it help? maybe....any release is good...but you do live with a beautiful vista.....
We've really needed rain here on the prairie, because there wasn't enough winter precipitation to replenish the ground water. It's raining now, and it makes me hurt all over, but I'm glad it's happening to the land if not to me.
ReplyDeleteK
Ditto Furry Bottom!
ReplyDeleteI do wish sometimes Ma Nature could even things out a bit--we've been parched for rain here, on the verge of a Stage One drought. An endless succession of dreary days is dispiriting, no matter how lovely the countryside, you're right. I think where you live compares a bit with Seattle, over here. One can manage, of course, but the heart does lift when the sky clears even a bit. I hope for you some clear days soon.
ReplyDeleteI miss rain much ! Might take months now until the next real good one falls. I always try to listen for the drops to drum me the sound of a name. Please have you all a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteI'm hearing from others about the terrible rains you have been having over there. No, I'm not sure I could live with all that rain. I love the beauty the moisture creates, but I live in the high mountain plains or desert and have grown used to the sunshine.
ReplyDeleteEnvy would be the wrong word but, yes, Shropshire would be on my list of places I'd like to live in England. When I was in my teens we lived in Wolverhampton. Trips to Shropshire were one of the highlights of our life there for me. The landscape has a real magical, numinous quality.
ReplyDeletePretend you're a Bronte. They were always in the mists on the moors.
ReplyDeleteWe've had breathtaking indigo days interspersed with what we call *RFD.
ReplyDeleteMy sympathies, it does get rather boring. And mouldy.
XO
WWW
*Rain,fog, drizzle
As humans, there is just no pleasing us...day after day of rain here in the Northwoods finally gets everyone saying Stop! Then comes July - hot and dry - everyone says where is the rain, we desperately need rain!!
ReplyDeleteFlooding or a dust bowl...there is just no happy medium...
Embrace the mist, Friko - could you dress in something dark and flowing and trail about on the hill - all dramatic and haunting.
ReplyDeleteI know - it's not very helpful, but it was the best I could offer.
Can I recommend a blogpost with a very interesting new word from another woman suffering from 'wet, wet,wet'!: http://janiceincaunes.blogspot.com/2012/04/drookit-in-languedoc.html
ReplyDeleteA few years back
ReplyDeleteit rained for 40 days here!
I was miserable on the boat
Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
> < } } (°>
The reflection is amazing and from this end of the screen... it all looks so romantic. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's soggy here, too, but prolonged spells of wet weather always take on a slightly different feel in rural areas. It'll be nice to see some sunshine, but I dare say there will be those who'll complain about that, after a week or two. We seem pre-programmed to be meteorological moaners in this country.
ReplyDeleteyes - i still envy you your hills - lovely photos
ReplyDeleteSeems kinda like with food, there is no problem with a lack of food, or rain and sunshine, rather there seems to be a distribution problem.
ReplyDeleteTalk about weather units us, so is o.k.. Here in the Southwest, in Santa Fe, we had temperatures up in the seventies followed by a drop to freezing temperatures, snow and soft hail, just as the Lilacs started to pop. The future looks bleak if our drought continues to deplete the ground water. Yesterday we had a whiff of rain (ah, that delightful scent) not nearly enough though to fill my roof run-off container. If you need some Bogs, I got yellow ones for sale, nothing like the proper foot wear for any season.
Yes — remember years ago when Dennis Howell was appointed Minister for Drought after six bone-dry months? The very day he took office it started raining and didn't stop for another six months.
ReplyDeleteAnd this springtime, almost on the very day a hosepipe ban came into force here in the east Of England, it also started to bucket down.
Is Someone up there playing a joke on us?
The green that is evident in your photos is something we can only dream about. I can see and sympathise with your wish for the rain to stop but here.... I am never sorry if it is raining.
ReplyDeleteWeather sure can be a downer but yes, I still find your surroundings beautiful. You and a few puddles can't fool me. ;)
ReplyDeleteI see that everyone's recommending that you think of yourself as Cathy and stride over hill and dale in a cloak . I'd love to do this , too .
ReplyDeleteIt's so soggy here the only heroine I can manage to transform myself into at the moment is Jemima Puddleduck .
Those hills are awesome!! I always loved the rain :)
ReplyDeleteHope it stops soon, Friko, but in the meantime you're entitled to moan. Up in the far north of Scotland we've missde the worst of it this time, but often we're paddling while the rest of the UK is baking. Look on the bright side, at least you won't have to water anything for ages.....
ReplyDeleteExactly because it started to rain I had to give up my weeds hunting and landed in Shropshire via BBC ! It's really a beautiful area very green ! I learned that there are not many inhabitants. You know in Belgium it rains probably even more than in the UK ! I consider to buy flippers and give up my shoes !
ReplyDeleteWell after viewing your pics...I need my boots. I feel wet! Ha!
ReplyDeleteWe could sure use the rain here!!
And thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. I so appreciate that.
Hugs
SueAnn
We've been having alternate days of rain and sun. I can still find reasons to complain. Your rain in the UK is memorable. I remember experincing quits a lot of it. I am ready to move to the SW and enjoy dry air and sunshine, except I would grow tired of that in about a month or knowing me...sooner. Dianne
ReplyDeleteFriko, your photos really do show lots of soggy surroundings. (Guess I was truly lucky in having all that sunshine and warmth during my recent UK visit.)
ReplyDeleteContinuous days of rain don't much agree with me either. I love the idea of having needed rain fall between 1 and 3 am. There must be some scientific reason that this rarely occurs!
What sorts of waterproof/resistant clothing do you use? Benno seems to manage pretty well in his usual attire.
xo
Here in Hawaii we have sunshine while it is raining. We call it LIQUID SUNSHINE, and we love the rainbows it creates.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you. I know we need rain, but not EVERY day. And it doesn't help at all that those fatuous water company spokesmen keep telling us how useless it is, because it isn't WINTER rain. It can't be beyond the wit of man to design a water distribution system that means we don't have a "drought" unless it rains 3 times a week (every week) between November and March. Apparently in some areas the water companies have simultaneously declared drought and flood alerts. Good grief! (Sorry! It's the wet feet that make me rant...)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Friko, we still envy you and the beautiful place in which you live. Just think of how lovely it will be soon—hopefully very soon!
ReplyDeleteWell, you know, at least when you step into your wellies, you know they're needed and that you've got your money's worth there...
ReplyDeleteHi, It’s Paula Devi from Ordinary Radiance,
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if you’ve visited OR lately and read that I had an active stalker.
As a result, I’ve closed that blog. Changes. Since I love writing a blog and treasure the friends I’ve made here, I’ve decided to open a new public blog.
I won’t be posting as intimately as I’ve done on Ordinary Radiance and Through The Bamboo but hopefully it will strike your fancy.
This new blog link is http://maquillagedujour.blogspot.com/. Come see.
Seconded!
ReplyDeleteI would not do well without sun for long stretches of time ...
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! They make all this rain seem worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that someone needs to turn off the tap. We don't have a drought in Lancashire, perish the thought, so we don't need it. Sick of it.
Same here Friko but here the farmers say it is the right rain at the wrong time.
ReplyDeleteThat last shot is lovely.. but I hear you. I hated the grey winters of Brighton, which is why I exchanged them for the cold white beauty of Sweden!
ReplyDeleteOh you British (or non-British as the case may be), one day you don't have enough rain and the next day you have too much and of the wrong kind too. Sulk and complain all you like; I do still envy you ;-)
ReplyDeleteI just hope it doesn't rain so much this coming week! I've got the 2nd half of the week off work for a trip to London and then on Friday I'm hoping to have a day out somewhere.
ReplyDeleteSorry, Friko -- it's still beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHook up a hose and channel it our way, would you? The world's weather is all topsy-turvy this year!
ReplyDeleteIch wuensche Dir viel Sonnenschein und keinen Regen mehr. Liebe Gruesse, Heidi
ReplyDeleteWeather is much talked about. Just last week we went from a sunny 23C to the most snow we've had this winter and the poor pansies were dropping.
ReplyDeleteBut talking about the weather demonstrates that you have become a proper Brit!
ReplyDeleteHi Friko - it's incredible isn't it .. ours isn't so bad here .. but it's that below the surface pond that's dry!
ReplyDeleteBet Benno doesn't mind, and bet the little ones splashing around in their wellie boots don't mind!
Sadly it's not over yet - but at least we're not in standpipe positions yet?!
Cheers Hilary
These shots are beautiful. The reflection is great.
ReplyDeleteDarryl and Ruth :)