A Load of Bullocks!

Living just outside Chester certainly has its advantages; I can be in Snowdonia or the South Lakes in around an hour and a half. However, I find I struggle a little for interesting landscapes when I have less time on my hands. Take this morning for example: The forecast was promising with the possibility of a frost, little wind and, perhaps even some low lying mist but I had to work which, with sunrise at around 7:30, meant I had very little time.

The closest body of water to home is the River Weaver; not exactly the prettiest stretch of water but, in the right conditions, it has some promise so this was where I headed this morning. Sadly, it became quickly evident that there would be only the lightest of frosts and the mist which often sits over the Weaver valley at this time of year was absent. Still, I was out, so I pressed on. The next problem was the state of the path which looked like a herd of cattle had been driven along it after a heavy downpour. It would have been impossible to negotiate without wellies and wasn't much fun wearing them. Still I pressed on.

Next I encountered the culprits - four bullocks happily grazing on the path; the presence of a feed bucket betraying the fact that this was no accident. Presumably an attempt to deter walkers. It nearly worked for me but, with tripod at the ready, I passed them warily. The greater problem was that there was just nothing very interesting about the river in those conditions. Even the water seemed particularly scummy for a longish stretch. The one saving grace was the sky behind me which had clouded over. I felt sure this cloud would colour up nicely as it approached sunrise but I struggled to find any decent composition in that direction. The scene above was the best I could come up with. It wasn't possible to avoid the pylons but I thought I might clone them out. In the end I didn't bother because, unbelievably, I had failed to see the ugly concrete structure to the side of the tree. That said, there was no way I could have avoided that anyway. This, then, was my one composition of the morning and it's nothing more than a record - not really worth squelching through the mud and muck and risking my life with bullocks (yes, I know I'm exaggerating).

Just to prove the conditions make all the difference, here is an image from a previous excursion - taken a few hundred yards from the one above.