Flowing again

The recent rains have been enough to bring Black Water back to life, there's still gravel on show but the stream is flowing again.

Foamy

 

You ever wondered why the trees start foaming in the rain? Well. In warm weather a trees' bark produces oils, at the same time a range of natural salts and alkaloids which are free floating in the air can also land on aforementioned oily bark. Add water in the form of rain and you've all the ingredients for a crude soap. As these ingredients move down the trunk they're agitated by the rough bark creating soap molecules which in turn lead to the bubbly foam. It's very crude, and may not be super effective, but it is soap. A useful nugget of bushcraft knowledge that...maybe.

Plain Heath

 

The rain drains from the old Holmsley airfield on Plain Heath down through collects, feeding rivulets themselves feeding streams. It's wet again today, rain punctuated by heavy showers sort of wet. Not conditions of choice, though still with plenty to offer. Dressed up for it you're okay, you need the hatches battened down mind. I find walking dressed against the weather odd, your field of vision is restricted, and your hearing muffled, it's like you're looking out of a spacesuit or some such. 

Rinse and repeat

 

The volume and force of the water coming off the plains at times is evident in the erosion it's causing as it races to join the forests' rivers. I've seen dozens of incidences like the damage above, where rushing water has scoured away sections of the gravel forestry track. Whilst many of the forests' green tracks are hardly navigable having become so sodden, easily churned. The forest makes for interesting walking.

Here comes the rain again

The rain ran down the forest's trees in streams this morning, a testament to it's intensity. The video's on it's side (I couldn't work out how to reorientate it), but you can see the persistent flow.

Today the rain reigned

It was raining we began our walk this morning, it continued to rain as we walked, and it was still raining when we finished our walk. Today the rain reigned.