NO WIND TODAY (04/01/12)

It is another dull day. We have had a good wander but nothing much to show for it. The ponds on the nature reserve were devoid of birds. One can usually find entertainment with blackheaded gulls but even they were absent today. There were a couple of seals in the Tees but on the opposite side to me. I walked round and they had vamoosed.

  Not a bird in sight. The two towers are the Middlesbrough lifting bridge and the tiny blue structure to their left is the Transporter Bridge.

Since the civil engineering works associated with the whitewater course have finished one can once again access most of the Tees Barrage.

 I have posted pictures of it several times. If only because it’s two steps from the camper when I stay here. A year ago it was better at night as it was illuminated. Have a look HERE if you are interested in more of the same. They seem to have stopped lighting it up which is a pity as they have installed these Archimedes Screws. Presumably to generate electricity or maybe just for the green look……….Or more likely the green grant. A pipe from here through a turbine has to be more efficient. Politicians have to be able to see stuff working even if it is millennium old technology. Daft useless bats they are….one and all!

   I’ve never seen them running. Maybe they are pumps not generators.

  They are also red not green. They are also very difficult to photograph as they are surrounded by a heavy mesh fence. The fence you will be pleased to hear is green! I have mixed feelings about these alternative energy generation systems. This seems preferable to the wind farms that are such an eyesore and rarely seem to be running at anything like fifty percent capacity. They are always white and not green so are an awful blot on the landscape.

This little channel is a fish ladder. I show it because it is now accessible and, whenever the fish are using it, could be a good spot for both the poacher and the photographer. The green netting is not continuous. I don’t know whether it’s there to stop the fish jumping out or the poachers jumping in. It runs from the tidal Tees on the north bank into the fresh water Tees above the barrage. How the fish find it is a mystery. They must be damn good navigators, it’s only a foot or so wide.

The rams that control the gates that control the water.

Looking upstream. The boom is doing it’s job collecting carbon neutral fuel.

Not a bad walk today but the light is awful. It only hailed once for ten minutes so it could have been a whole lot worse.

I found the link to the old post using POSTVORTA. It really is quick and the more information one gives it the quicker it is. I had a word with Mark who invented it and he is happy to do your blog. He says, that once you register, his software sorts it all out…………give it a whirl it’s free. I’ve had it since the summer and only just started using it. Recommended by Adrian it is…………..so perhaps no recommendation at all!

I was away to Scotland tomorrow but still have stuff to sort. I’m going to do my bestest.

I hope to see you from pastures anew tomorrow.