Framedlight

The white fluffy clouds that had been present all day started to accumulate over the mountains surrounding Death Valley and blackened into proper storm clouds which we could see were depositing snow over the higher peaks. I felt very privileged to experience these conditions. We drove the short distance to Mesquite Flat and walked into the dunes. Fortunately we were a little out of season and there were not too may footprints over them. As the sun started to set we moved over the other side of the road to the Devil's Cornfield to capture some evening photos. As I photographed Mairi ran back to the campsite for the exercise and I met her there when I had finished, for tea and bed.

We have been fortunate in having some really stormy weather recently, with fantastic skies, better than I can ever remember. These are a few pictures taken mainly in the evening with that perfect light and approaching storm.  

After the storm in Happisburgh we drove round to Horsey beach to see if there were any seals left. There were a couple of young ones and a few adults who were very blase ´ about human contact and let me get within 6 ft of them (they were a bit large and a little scary though). One of the young ones did not look well. I guess they have all been lucky to have survived. The wind was causing the sand to move across the surface of the beach and the waves were rolling in.

As we were coming off the beach in Happisburgh the sky darkened and we could see the rain approaching across the ocean, creating a rainbow and sometimes two. Just before getting in the car we stopped to take pictures of the lighthouse.

Overnight the rain poured and the wind blew. On the morning of the 30th December it looked as if the old year was going out with a bang. The wind was still growling and the coast seemed a good place to visit. We drove over to Anglesey through flooded roads, first stopping at Betws Garmon to see how the stream was coping with the extra load. From there we went over the Menai straits and across the flat boring hinterland of Anglesey before turning off to look at the west coast. In a small cove called Porth-y-Post we discovered the force of the Atlantic playing out, not as violently as it would do later in the week, but at least it was safe to watch. The first two pictures are of Betws and the rest of Porth-y-Post, these taken at first with a 70mm lens and then with a 200mm lens.