Terror on the Norfolk Broads!

 Oof!  Here we are!

 

 So, what have we been up to since last our paths crossed?  Well, we'll show and tell you.  Mostly show because The Host can't be bothered with a lot of typing...

 

 The day after our previous post, it was The Mother's 80th birthday and a couple of days later (on the Bank Holiday Monday) we had an all-day boat trip on the Norfolk Broads to celebrate.  We were all there: both my sisters - Inexcuseable and Indescribable - and their families (and Indescribable's dog), The Father, but not The Mother.  She decided she'd much rather stay at home with Bitey and have some peace and quiet.  I don't blame her - I wish I could have done, too.

 Anyway, here are some photos:

 

Amongst other things, the Broads are famous for their windmills.  This one's having a bit of work done.

 

We startled a cormorant!

A Barrage of Spume

"Taken unawares from behind, absolutely covered from head to toe with a deluge, nay, barrage of thick, salty spume!"

 

 I started this post on Sunday after returning from the beach narrow strip of stones at the foot of the cliff with Bitey but, what with one thing and another, never finished it.  I can't remember where I was going with it, so I'll just publish it now pretty much as is.

 

 This is what greeted us as we approached the promenade having finished our walk.  When we got down the cliff earlier in the morning, I thought the tide was as high as it was going to get.  I was wrong.

 

 Yes, of course we got wet attempting to get across the slippery clay to the prom. 

 

♪♫♬♩

 

 Here's some of the music I listened to while drying off:

Jessie Ware - Sauna (Extended Version)

Snow Patrol & Kylie - These Alarms

Robin - Always

Sounds of the Sea (and Swearing)

 

 "Please make more audios of the sea!!!" Ms Scarlet instructed in no uncertain terms.

 Your wish is my command! (I'm sorry about the birdsong.  I know you didn't request it, so I hope it doesn't detract from the sounds of the waves lapping gently at the shore.)

 

7:37 am, Overstrand beach.  Yes, that's Bitey having a paddle.

More First Flowers but the same Twatted Bee

My recent bearded iris purchase, "Black Tie Affair", put forth its first bloom on Wednesday.

 Every day this past week I've been going up to the allotment with Bitey.  Not to do any allotmenteering, but to check when the first foxglove flowered.  Tuesday was First Flowering Day, but not from the foxglove I thought it was going to be.  Before I get to that, here's a video from Wednesday's wander up there: 

 

This barn owl treated me to a flyby at about five-to-eight.  Bitey didn't seem interested, but I was thrilled to see it - and have time to whip my phone out and take this video!

"We're running out of clouds, staring at blue again"

 These photos might be from Saturday, but despite the imminent Bank Holiday weekend here in Blighty, the weather is set for more of the same (with the possible exception of this Saturday).  And with the added extra of warmth, if not actual heat!  Strange Things Happen:

 

 Thank you Alison Goldfrapp, for "We're running out of clouds, staring at blue again".  It's as if she knew. 

 And speaking of strange things happening: 

News From Norfolk: 

 

This is not just any animal rescue, this is an M&S animal rescue

 

Hillside Animal Sanctuary was called out to Marks & Spencer on Rampant Horse Street in Norwich after staff found a muntjac stuck within the glass barrier of a ground-floor escalator. 

 

[The whole story] 

Anyway, back to me

 Yes, it's back to the normal content and sporadic posting now that I've finished my self-inflicted stand-in daily blogging for Jon (who should be back off his sunny, Spanish holiday today).  I didn't have plans to post anything this soon, but an impromptu walk with Bitey yesterday evening left me with a load of photos to do something with (and a couple from the prom this morning, above), so here they are.

 

 On the right, my bearded irises are about to burst into flower.  Below, a tantalising glimpse of cherries to come up at the allotment.  They will all be devoured by Beaky and his gluttonous family before I get a look in, of course.

Of Tiny Treehouses, Triffid Trees, Sparkling Seas, Bluebells & Biteys, and a German vs Sun Loungers

It's another snippets post, dear reader (but this one's almost all about me!):

• 
  At the end of April, I finally got around to making this Forest Cottage, a Tiny Treehouse kit that Inexcuseable got me for my birthday.  It was one of the more fiddly kits and took me several hours - on and off - to complete.  Well, I say complete, I have one piece left over - I just hope it isn't structural!

• 
  This is my favourite tree in Norwich - or at least the bits of Norwich I walk through on my way to work.  However, I don't know what type of tree it is, so perhaps one of you, dear readers, can enlighten me?

• 
  My giant vipers buglosses (Echiums) started to flower on the last day of April - you should be able to make out a couple of the pale purple/blue flower buds in the close-up.  There are loads of flowers on them now - I'll be posting more photos soon.

• 
  Saturday morning's walk with Bitey found us walking along the promenade and over the base of the cliff (because the tide was right in) to the east beach.  Or the narrow strip between the revetments and cliffs.  I tried to get Bitey to strike some poses on the steps over the revetment, and eventually (after looking at me like I was losing my mind), he managed one. 

• 
  Bluebells blooming in The Gardener's Retreat behind the garage.

• 
  Oh, Bitey. What have you got?

Don't worry, this is not Raspberry.  It is Raspberry's 'friend' though.  He died quickly.

 

• And finally: Although Mr Mago is currently on holiday, I don't think this German tourist is him.  He doesn't strike me as one for sun loungers, anyway.

 

 And the weather?  Blue skies abound!  For now, anyway...

Wot I Did On My Birthday, by IDV (aged 44 & fourteen halfs*)

 Well, yes, I did go for a walk as the photos above attest, but the evening before, I actually went out.  With actual people (four friends).  To a bar (for cocktails)!  Yes, I know.

 

 Anyway, we went to Shoreline in Cromer because I didn't fancy spending all night standing in a noisy, packed pub getting hot and bothered (and not in a good way) and not hearing what anyone was saying.  I had three cocktails - a Cromer colada (basically a piña colada with apricot rum or schnapps or something), a Garden sour (a Spring special made with rhubarb gin, lemon juice and syrup), and an Ameretto sour - and didn't have to open my purse once because my lovely, generous friends bought them!

 Shoreline doesn't seem to have a website but they are on IG and FB (I'm not linking to them as I don't approve of the whole Meta thing, but if you're curious you can find them under shorelinecromer).

 

I neglected to take photos of the place or the cocktails, so I nabbed these from the web.  It was not raining or wet when we went.

  Right.  That's Saturday night out of the way.  Here are the rest of the photos from Sunday morning's birthday walk with Bitey. 

Of sunshine and hideous, snap-jawed sea creatures

 We've actually had rather a nice weekend, weatherwise: sunshine, balmy temperatures when the wind wasn't blowing, and when it was, it was coming form the south which meant that at least it wasn't frigid as per.

 As well as spending time up the allotment and in the garden, I also took Bitey down to the beach for his now traditional Sunday morning walk (we meet up with one of my friends who has a black lab who Bitey is always very excited to see, and vice versa).

 

 Anyway, here are some photos from that very walk: 

 

 

Vos Grace*

 It's been a lovely sunny - if a bit cold - day here, so this morning I took Bitey down to the beach for a walk.  We came down the cliff just before the east slope and slipway and made our way west. 

 (That's Trimingham sticking out into the sea on the horizon in the photo above; and the view north-northwest from halfway down the cliff, below.)

 

Not considering byzantine intercalation

 Aside from being somewhat cold and windy, it's been a good start to the year* here weatherwise. I hope all of you have enjoyed a good start to 2026 in some shape or form.

 

[Photo above from the promenade this morning, and those below are from the South Wing of Hexenhäusli Device a couple of hours or so ago.]

 

 

 

 * Starting the year just prior to the depths of winter seems pretty daft to me.  I must look into adopting a calendar which begins in March (but not the early Julian calendar with it's byzantine intercalation).

Saturday Sunrise: No Cormorants Edition

 I don't think we've published any sunrise photos since December 2023?  Oh, no, wait.  There were some a few days later at the beginning of January 2024. 

 Anyway, as I woke up early this morning- 

 Although, not very early.  It was about ten past six.

 That's still quite early.  Maybe not as early as Ms Scarlet, but much earlier than Jon, I suspect.  Anyway, I was up early and the sky was relatively clear-

 Unlike now - overcast and dull.

 Anyway... I decided to pop down to the seafront to get some photos of the sunrise without Witchface or Bitey (who wished to remain in bed).  

 And, aside from the one on the right, here they are almost in order of appearance:

 

#1 Too early even for the sun.

Bitey on the Beach

  I'm on holiday this week.  I made some plans - something to do every day so as not to waste the time - and thought I'd have plenty of time for catching up with your blogs and updating my own.  The universe had other plans, however...

 

  Still, I managed to go to the Old Vicarage Gardens in East Ruston on Saturday, window shopping in Norwich on Monday morning, a long walk & paddle on the beach with Bitey on Tuesday, back down to the beach for a swim (which turned out to be a very deep paddle - more on that later) then gardening and allotmenteering yesterday, and here we are on Thursday already!  I've been swimming (in a heated pool) and done some tidying up in the garden and then came indoors because the forecast is for rain.  

 

  It is not raining.  Rather than put my shoes and socks back on to go back outside, I thought I'd use this opportunity to do some blogging.  So, here are some of the photos from Tuesday's foray down to the beach:

 

Approaching the End-of-the-Line

 

The End-of-the-Line

Four Photos: Wishful Thinking?

A hummingbird hawk moth drinking from one of the buddleias in the Hexenhäusli Device gardens this afternoon.

 

Oh my gods!!!  They're almost holding hands!  They're going to do It*!!!!!!

(Two of my three favourite** lowest of the Lower Deckers - Fin*** the super-hot, pretty boy human med tech and Charlie**** the adorable Andorian engineer - from the first episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, "Twovix".  I took this photo back in April as I couldn't take a screen shot and couldn't find one online [I have found one since then, though] - I wanted it for research purposes, the end result of which will probably be posted here at some point.)

 

Bitey on the beach on Wednesday evening.

 

Someone in this house had this for tea on Wednesday - and it certainly wasn't me!

 

 

* According to First Officer Jack Ransom (in "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place"), the Cerritos is the "horniest ship in the fleet" (and doesn't have any married couples on board).

** The third is Buddy the Vulcan, as featured here with the other two.

*** He's not named in the show as he's just a non-speaking background character, but he looks remarkably like my backup lifeguard at the pool I swim in, so I've given him the same name.

**** Again, unnamed in the show, but someone has named him Charlie.  I'm going with it for now as I haven't thought of anything better.

Four Photos: 4

Male broad-bodied chaser dragonfly

 

 

A Triffid!!!  Agave montana flower head

 

 

End-of-the-Line

 

Friday evening

"Access at either end remains open"

 Just popping up some photos of last weekend's beach walk before I get distracted with something else and another month flies by. 

 I'll probably take Bitey down to the beach again today because the weather hasn't changed since last Saurday: sunshine and blue skies all the way (although it appears to be reverting to the normal clouds and rain from this Tuesday, so that's a comfort).

 

Bitey Gets Ignored

 It has been near enough freezing all day, so I've been indoors mainly working on my entry for this month's Star Trek fan art challenge.  However, at about half one I felt the need for a stretch and some fresh - if cold - air, so I gathered Bitey up and took him down to the beach.  And here are the photos to prove it!

 Oh, in a couple of photos time (after the jump) there is a scene that sensitive viewers may wish to brace themselves for.  All I'll say at this point is that you should count yourselves lucky you weren't here to smell it!

 Anyway, the main thing is: the photos.  Oh and this tune (which I know from the film, Evolution):

The Winter sea has scoured away much of the sand exposing large swathes of the underlying chalk bed.

 

Approaching the End-of-the-Line

 Hold your noses and stomachs for what's next:

The Foulness of Catching Crabs

 I remembered to take Camera with me on this morning's Bitey walk into the village.  I did this with one thing in mind: to take a photo of the "visitors' guide to Overstrand, past and present" map because it answers some questions that dear Mago asked last month.  I have still to look through the history books downstairs for more info, but I've made a start at least.

 Before we get to the map, here are some photos of the North Sea: