7th August 2019 Torrential rain and flippin' dolphins!

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Wednesday 7th 61-72F, bright sunshine to start, but cloudbursts possible. And were! Particularly in the late afternoon. I felt sorry for the ponies. Each standing on one leg, in a biblical downpour, to avoid being struck by lightning.

I stubbled across the prairie but it was a harrowing experience. Back along the main road dodging huge lorries and commuters. The sky is grey and untidy with an easterly wind.

After yesterday's ladder work to trim yet another 15' overgrown hedge my hip is in agony. I was fine until mid-morning when it suddenly came on. Nearly 15.00 now and we are enjoying thunder and torrential cloudbursts.

Thursday 8th 60-67?F, sunny periods but unsettled weather again and rather breezy. Walked to the lanes. Initial pain soon passed off and I was able to increase my pace. Traffic rather heavy. Another day with cloudbursts forecast. Heavy shopping in the car.

Friday 9th 56-68?F, calm and sunny. More cloud expected later. Walked anticlockwise up to the woods and back down the ridge by the direct route. More heavy shopping in the car. Grey by lunch time.

Saturday 10th 65F, bright but milky sky. Very mixed forecasts again. Possibly rain with sunny periods. I might be able to sneak a ride in today. Weather permitting. A warm walk to the lanes in quiet traffic. Whoops! As soon as morning coffee was over the sky rumbled and it rained harder than I have ever seen before. It lasted for about half an hour, on and off, with a gusty wind. So much for a longer ride! An awful day of repeated cloudbursts and squally winds.

Sunday 11th 61F, another windy day is forecast but with confusion over rain or no rain. There was a melancholy air to the countryside today. The damp roads littered with leaves brought down or blown out of the roadside hedges by yesterday's foul weather. The wind roared in the trees as there were more darker moments than bright. The whole, jumbled sky was in a hurry to be somewhere else.

I was treated to a flying display by a large, buff, bird of prey. Rocking, stiff winged, from side to side to traverse the landscape on the blustery wind. Not a Red kite but of a roughly similar size. With very long, slender, finger-tipped wings and a medium length, square ended, rectangular tail. This is probably the same bird I see now and then in the same area but still it defies my identification.

Never near enough to photograph with my TZ7's limited zoom range. I usually watch it in retreating flight through my binoculars. "The Breeding Birds of Europe 1&2" didn't help. There's nothing in there with the correct size, very long, narrow wings and square tail. I'm not allowed to call it a Square Tailed Kite unless one or both of us is very, very lost. [Australian habitat.] The Black kite has an indented tail and the wings are much too thick. Northern Harrier? I want it to be bigger with much longer, thinner wings.

Talking of wildlife: A dolphin has been filmed tossing jellyfish into the air for fun in Sønderborg harbour. [South East Jutland] The dolphin has been reported to wildlife protection authorities for cruel and unnatural treatment of a jellyfish. The police are appealing for any witnesses who may be able to identify the culprit.

"I say, Margaret, I've suddenly gone all fuzzy. Did that fellow just crop us?"

"I really don't know, Barbara, but he certainly doesn't understand the rule of thirds!"

It blew like mad all day with vicious gusts and short showers. All plans to shop by tricycle were soon abandoned.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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