Authie et Mi

It has been wet

3rd March 2014

No snow this year apart from one morning when we had a slight flurry that took hours to melt.

A year ago we were under a blanket of snow with temperatures hovering under zero at night and only just above it during the day. A mere twelve months later and we have been almost basking in temperatures that have rarely dropped into single figures—even overnight. I think that we have only had about three harsh frosts since November.

To make up for it we have had rain—lots of it. Not as much as the south of England it has to be said though our coast along Normandy and Brittany has taken a hammering from severe storms. We around here have been reasonably sheltered and although the fields are saturated the Authie which runs through the village has been contained within its banks.

That was not the case out towards the coast and one afternoon driving over to see Jean-Jacques at Fort Mahon, I could see that the river near its estuary had broken its banks and was a number of fields wider than it should be.

With that in mind a few days later I drove over again, this time with the camera. A bit disappointed though because much of the excess water had drained away and it was not as spectacular as it had been.

So I continued out to the bay with the intentions of going for a dander. Didn’t get very far. The footpath along the scenic walk to the coast was under a lot of water and although I managed to walk out across the dunes a wee bit, much of them were under water and the marsh was very soggy.

I came in covered in mud and smelling of seaweed.

A few days later we were due an exceptional tide plus a storm, so I went back again at high tide.

Has to be said that it was impressive. Water right up to the car park and one of the floating hides had become un-moored and drifted inland. Looking out to sea it was almost sunny and I was spared the downpour that had been threatened. That was going on behind me further inland.


Posted : 19 March 2014

Authie,