A wet week

Prior to the arrival of storm Barney it had been a wet week here. Low mists bowled up the estuary and rolled around the houses. Other than a continuous drip-dripping from the eaves, all was silent. Down by the river the mist was heavy enough to feel like patchy soft rain. A Grey wagtail bobbed politely to Finch and I at the water’s edge one morning. The Grey wagtail is much prettier than its name suggests. It has a lovely yellow under-tail, which faded into a mellow peach on the breast of this particular specimen. I was glad to see him because Grey wagtails are on the Amber List due to moderate declines in their numbers. They are badly affected by harsh winters so I think he’s chosen a good spot to weather out this year’s cold season. We are still slightly disoriented by how warm it is down here compared to Scotland, especially when we hear reports from our friends up there of snow and blackouts. They can take consolation from an old Borders saying that if the snow doesn’t come until after Christmas it’ll be here until Lambing. Hopefully, by appearing now the weather might be sharp but it’ll also be short. Here are a couple more spot illustrations from my recent WW1 commission from Centre of the Cell.