rain | northumbrian : light

You don’t need a weatherman …

climate (n.)
late 14c., “horizontal zone of the earth,” Scottish, from Old French climat “region, part of the earth,” from Latin clima (genitive climatis) “region; slope of the Earth,” from Greek klima “region, zone,” literally “an inclination, slope,” thus “slope of the Earth from equator to pole,” from root of klinein “to slope, to lean,” from PIE root *klei- “to lean” (see lean (v.)).

Whatever the climate might or might not be doing, in these parts, it has certainly been changeable. From bright, cold March sun through heavy snow, to biblical rain and out the other side to hints of summer, we have had it all these last seven days:

… bitter March landscape

… high water

… lonesome highway

… winter returns

… beneath Hexham Bridge

… bring me sunshine

Northumberland, Personal, Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge, Writing

Sunshine after rain

Gallery | Posted on August 5, 2014 by northumbrianlight

Walk out of our drive, turn left and the road heads down the hill towards Beaufront Castle. The road zig-zags left, then right, then left again before passing the castle lodge. Another turn left takes you to the only opening in the high hedges which leads to a field of cut hay. Turning left again, the road zig-zags right before the field with the longhorns and then straightens up at the back of Sandhoe Hall and our nearest postbox. This was the short walk we took on Saturday after a day of torrential rain – everything was still drenched but a harsh, bright sun pierced the trees turning forgotten corners of nature into star turns:

(click on the images to enlarge)

Dismal Day

Posted on June 24, 2014 by northumbrianlight

After a relatively long dry spell, the weather in the northeast turned this morning. Even the sheep have taken to sheltering under the trees. There maybe something else going on though. Having lived in the same place for nearly twenty years and observed the habits of our nearest neighbours, it is surprising how the different generations do exactly the same things, year after year; just like sheep I suppose. For instance, lambs and ewes alike will bury their heads in the folds of a tree trunk for minutes at a time – it only recently occurred to me that they are probably nibbling at the bark, not sulking. Something to fill the hours on a rainy day:

(click on the image to enlarge)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Foreshadow – expecting rain

Posted on August 3, 2013 by northumbrianlight

This is a view of Beaufront Woodhead Farmhouse looking east as storm clouds foreshadow rain above the chimneys and birds take flight.

The building is listed and even gets a brief mention in Pevsner’s The Buildings of England – Northumberland Volume 15 – on page 161: “Picturesque farmhouse of several C18 dates, with lots of reverse stepped gables. Its complicated nature (it has five separate elevations) probably results from the sequential rebuilding of an older house”.

The left hand part of the structure, windowless at the rear, is most likely a conversion of an original fortified bastle house:

(click on the image to enlarge)

Travel theme: Motion

Posted on July 9, 2013 by northumbrianlight

As someone who owns a back catalogue that includes hundreds of racing cars in motion, this week’s Travel Theme should have been simplicity itself. However, that seemed too easy and the link with travel tenuous although my teenage obsession with fast cars certainly took me on many an interesting journey. Consequently, I have opted for something involving two wheels and two legs in motion, this photograph taken on a particularly wet day in Bologna. I wonder what the conversation is between the two subjects – “Give us yer brolly mate!”…..or the Italian equivalent: