Bridge over troubled water...

I missed photographing the spectacular sunrise, when the sky was stained with shades of orange, purple and pink, because I was delivering Alex to the station. But, if I hadn't been doing that I may well have slept through it and not seen it at all. And I suppose that one of the consolations of winter is that I'll soon be able to drop Alex off and still have plenty of time to catch the sunrise...

There were a few glimpses of sunshine in the first half of the morning, but by the time I took the dogs for a short walk at Ferry Meadows the sky was sullenly grey. Gemma was feeling a bit tired after yesterday's birthday walk, so we didn't go very far. I saw the first large flock of fieldfares of the autumn, probably nigh on a hundred birds, wheeling around over the river. I believe other people have spotted waxwings in the park too.

This is a view of Milton Ferry Bridge, which has appeared in my journal before (but from the other direction). Today the river was a raging brown torrent, spilling over onto the surrounding fields wherever there are any low points. I suspect it will look like this every time we have some rain this winter. The ground is so saturated that it can't absorb any more water - a complete contrast to last year when we were in the throes of a drought.

The scene looks quite idyllic, but the dual carriageway of the A47 lies just beyond the multicoloured trees, and the noise of the traffic carries across the river. The tree belt dates from two main periods. This part of the river was a popular leisure area in Victorian times, and the larger exotic trees such as common lime, horse chestnut, larch and Cedar of Lebanon all date from that time. Most of the smaller trees were planted to screen the road, and include cherry laurel, wild cherry, dogwood and field maple. The range of trees, and the fact that they're situated on a south-facing bank, make this area one of the best for autumn colour in the immediate area.