Wet Runnings and Wind-devils

This weeks Gallery is weather.

Most of the south of the UK is under water right now. I am central Midlands, we rarely get extremes of anything.  It has been very wet here, the fields are so sodden that I gave up trying to run in them when even the duck boards laid by local dog walkers had  submerged.

So for now I am road running.  I hate it.  I got clipped by a car about 3 weeks ago.  Drivers just don't break early enough for runners and most don't give a wide enough berth.  I seem to be constantly diving into hedges to avoid being mowed down.

I am running into the oncoming traffic, I am wearing a fluorescent jacket and I'm as tight to the edge of the road as I can be without twisting my ankles on the broken edges (there are no footpaths).  I think I am doing my part.  But so many cars just love forcing me off the road and aiming for puddles to see if they can splash me. It's a joy.  But I refuse to be defeated, I find treadmill running soul destroyingly boring, at least the killer cars keep me on my toes.

But this gallery is about weather not running, so here is a picture I took on my phone whilst out walking a few years ago.  It is literally a wall of cloud.  It was a lovely sunny day and this weather front moved fast and menacingly towards me and within two shakes of a lambs tail I was a drowned rat.

It was quite amazing to watch, right up there with the funnel cloud I watched form one day in the clouds.  It started to come down from the clouds, I thought it was going to touch the ground and then just before it did,  as quickly as it formed it seem to disappear again.  I've seen a wind-devils go across the fields in the summer months.  They are such fun to watch, whipping up the dust or loose straw, I even followed one driving down a road once, quite amazing.  But this large wall of cloud topped them all for bringing home the sheer power of nature.