A large dose of snowdrops is the best cure for winter blues - Craftycabbage
Photo 1: Snowdrops & Yew Balls, The Weir Garden (February 1st 2026)
The Weir Garden is a National Trust garden located just outside Hereford. It is a steeply-banked riverside garden re-known for its display of Spring bulbs (snowdrops, daffodils, etc). I have extolled its virtues in a number of previous posts; see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. You might have guessed that we do like to visit!! It is fairly basic amenities-wise (just toilets) but a great place for picnics, a gentle stroll, and a visit to the walled garden (time-permitting) to see what's growing in the vegetable garden.
It was the first day of February and a planned walk with friends had been cancelled due to an inclement forecast. We did get some rain but it brightened up in the late afternoon and there was just time to drive the 5 miles to the garden to enjoy the early spring bulbs along with some tea and homemade scones and biscuits.
Photo 2: Snowdrops at the Garden Entrance (Feb 1st 2026)
Despite the lateness of the day (3 pm, closing time 4:30 pm), the car park was surprisingly full. We showed our membership cards at the kiosk as we surveyed the first clumps of snowdrops at the entrance.
Most of the paths around the garden are gravelled and well-drained. There were a few flooded areas and a short section of grassy/muddy pathway where I slipped and landed on my backside. Much to the amusement of Mary. Sturdy footwear is thus recommended and there are a few climbs with rustic steps to be negotiated.
The stars of the show were undoubtedly the snowdrops ...
Photo 5: An Isolated Clump of Snowdrops, Weir Garden, 2026
Photo 6: A Carpet of Snowdrops, Weir Garden, February 1st 2026
Photo 7: Snowdrops En Masse, Weir Garden (1/2/26)
Apart from the snowdrops there were a few other Spring flowers on show though sparsely distributed ...
We stayed for about 90 minutes and were the last to leave. We hope to be back later to see the daffodils and, later on, the wild garlic. By then the weather should be a little kinder.
We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change, and the last generation who can do something about it - Barack Obama
The UK experienced its warmest year ever in 2025 according to the UK Met Office. It was also the warmest year in the Central England Temperature (CET) record and, to the best of my knowledge, the hottest in Hereford City. Phew, what a scorcher!
Video 1: Roasting Hot
The highest ever temperature recorded by the Davis Weather Station in our back garden was 38 ℃ in July 2022. This year the mercury 'only' touched 36 ℃ on the hottest day! Mind you, we had plenty of heatwaves early in the summer.
According to Copernicus, the last three years have been the hottest, globally, since temperature records began. 2025 was the third hottest behind 2024 (hottest) and 2023 (second hottest). Indeed, the last 11 hottest years have occurred in the past 11 years. (Figure 1). Of the two main reasons for this cluster of hottest years (2023-25), one is entirely human caused (burning fossil fuels) and the other is natural (the 2023-2024 El Nino event). A dishonourable mention also to deforestation (albeit at a slower rate) as a result of agricultural expansion and forest fires.
Figure 1: Global Temperature Anomalies (Copernicus)
While global temperatures have increased by about 1.5 ℃ since pre-industrial times (i.e. after 1850), some parts of the planet are warming much faster. The Arctic is warming 3-4 times faster than the overall planet and Europe is warming about twice as fast.
In Figure 2 below, I have plotted the annual temperatures (2020 - 2025) for the United Kingdom (UK), the Central England Temperature (CET) region and our back garden in Hereford. All three temperature series have 2025 as the hottest year which is easier to visualise in Figure 3.
Figure 2: Annual Temperatures for the UK, CET and Hereford (2020 - 2025)
The UK mean temperatures are lowest because it includes such far flung and cold places like Scotland where the Shetland Islands are only 400 miles south of the Arctic Circle. CET temperatures are warmer because they exclude the colder bits (like Scotland!). Hereford temperatures are the warmest, partly due to its more southerly location within the CET region and partly due to its city location where it benefits from the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI).
Figure 3: Annual Temperatures for the UK, CET and Hereford (2020 - 2025)
The year order of mean annual temperatures (based on increasing annual temperature) are the same for the UK and CET series: 2021<2020<2024<2023<2022<2025. Hereford has a slightly different order (2021<2024<2023<2022<2020<2025) although all three series have 2021 as the coldest and 2025 as the hottest. There may be a number of reasons for this including low data granularity (only one data point for Hereford) and the coarseness of the Hereford temperature data (measured to the nearest ℃). In practice, however, the order difference is just a shift from 2020 being the second coolest year in the UK and CET series but the second warmest in the Hereford series.
The UK Met Office reported that 2025 was the sunniest year on record for the UK. How does that compare with my sunshine records for Hereford? Figure 4 displays the estimated annual sunshine hours recorded by the Davis Weather Station located in our back garden.
Figure 4: Estimated Sunshine hours for Hereford City
Although our records only go back to 2020, we can certainly confirm that 2025 was the sunniest year on record and that 2020 was the second sunniest year.
In conclusion, 2025 was the sunniest and the hottest year on record!!
December was warm and wet for the first three weeks of the month before turning cooler and drier during the final week. This month's garden photo (Photo 1) was taken on the last day of 2025 after the coldest night (-3 ℃) night of the month. Two months earlier, at the start of November, the garden had been full of autumn colour.
Photo 1: The Back Garden on 31st December
And back by popular demand, is another 'Spot the Woodie' Photo Competition (no prizes, I'm afraid) below ...
Photo 2: Spot the Woodie
All December's garden photos are collated in the video below ...
Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden (December 2025)
Selected weather statistics from the Davis Weather Station in our back garden are summarised in Table 1. Weather-wise, I remember December as being on the warm side with middling sunshine and rain, though the precipitation was heavy at times. Storm Bram affected other parts of the UK but largely bypassed Herefordshire.
Table 1: Summary Weather Statistics for December 2025
Daily minimum and maximum temperatures for December 2025 are shown in Figure 1. The coldest temperature of the month (-3 ℃) occurred overnight (30th/31st) - unfortunately this does not show up in Figure 1 because the Weatherlink software used to present the Davis Weather Station data has trouble fitting the longest months into its 'Monthly Summary'. I could transfer the csv file to a spreadsheet but, to be honest, I've got more important things to do! Figure 1 shows how the relatively warm temperatures for the first three weeks (weather systems coming in from the west) switched to colder conditions when the weather started coming from the East.
In Figure 2, the daily rainfall and sunshine hours for December are shown. The final week was dry and sunny most days. The first three weeks, however, were characterised by Atlantic weather systems bringing in weather fronts that alternated between sun and rain. When it did rain it was usually a significant precipitation event resulting in flooding as rivers breached their banks.
Figure 2: Daily Rain/Sunshine Data (December 2025)
On the 10th December, I was cycling back home after water testing and took these photos. Photo 3 was taken from Hunderton Railway Bridge looking upstream and across to the playing fields of Hereford Cathedral School. The River Wye is in the foreground, the playing fields are in the background (the building just right of centre is the clubhouse). The submerged riverside footpath along the treeline is several feet under water.
Photo 3: Cathedral School Playing Fields, Hereford (10th December 2025)
The next picture (Photo 4) was taken from the same bridge but looking downstream towards Hereford City. The River Wye is on the right with the treeline marking the riverside footpath. On the left, in the centre, are the underwater rugby pitches of Hereford RFC. On the city skyline you can just make out the spire of All Saints Church and the square tower of St Nicholas' Church. The former has an excellent cafe (with good vegetarian/vegan choices) while the latter is currently up for sale.
Photo 4: Looking Towards Hereford City from Hunderton Railway Bridge (10/12/25)
The next photo was also taken from the Hunderton Bridge looking downstream but zoomed in (Pixel 10 Pro) to see the Wye Bridge (Built 1490, Grade I listed). At 10.30 am on the 10th December 2025, when this photo was taken, the river was 4.5 metres (15 feet) deep at the Wye Bridge (typical depths are about 1 metre (3 feet).
Photo 5: Wye Bridge (10th December 2025)
Figure 3 compares November temperature data recorded on my back garden weather station. With 7 years of weather data, there is a suggestion of an upward trend in both average and maximum temperatures, particularly the latter. Average temperatures show much greater variation because, let's not forget, this is winter and even global warming cannot rule out the possibility of a cold winter as in 2022 and 2023.
Figure 3: Time Series (2019-2025) of December Temperatures (Hereford City)
Figure 4 compares other weather data such as rainfall, sunshine hours and maximum wind speeds. Over the past 7 years, monthly rainfall is trending down, sunshine levels are fairly constant and maximum wind speeds are increasing. None of these trends can be confirmed without without a longer time series.
Figure 4: Time Series (2019-2025) of December Rain, Sun & Wind (Hereford City)
The next three figures are taken from the UK Met Office's Monthly Report for December 2025. Figure 5 shows the mean temperature anomaly (relative to the 1991-2020 average) for the UK. Herefordshire, along with most of the UK experienced temperatures 1-2 ℃ above the long-term mean. Based on our nearest Met Office weather station at Credenhill (about 4 miles away), our average December temperature is around 4.8 to 4.9 ℃. Our weather station in Hereford City had a mean of 7 ℃ in agreement with 1.5 to 2.5 ℃ anomaly in Figure 5.
Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (December 2025)
Figure 6 reports UK rainfall for December as 'typical' for most of the country including Herefordshire. The long-term average (1991 - 2020) for Credenhill is 72 mm in December which is close to the 79.6 mm reported by my weather station (Table 1). It just goes to show that average rainfall levels can result in flood events (e.g. Photo 3) if the rainstorm is intense or prolonged.
Figure 6: Relative UK Rainfall (December 2025)
UK sunshine levels are summarised in Figure 7. Herefordshire (circled) was divided between average (north) and above average (south) levels of sunshine. The Midlands, which includes Herefordshire, has an average sunshine duration of nearly 50 hours in December. The 43 hours recorded by our weather station (Table 1) suggests we were slightly below average.
Figure 7: Relative UK Sunshine Hours (December 2025)
Jobs in the Garden
It was very quiet in the garden which means I might be quite busy in late winter and early spring preparing for the new growing season
I've kept one hot composting bin going taking the kitchen scraps along with some garden waste
Chard and spinach beet are still being harvested thanks to the mild weather
The few remaining beetroots and turnips were damaged by frost
Stored onions, garlic and marrows are still going strong
Flora & Fauna in the Garden
Blackbird (x2, both males)
Blackcap (x1, though male and female seen at different times)
Photo 6: Female Blackcap in the Garden (28th December 2025)
There is no sadder thing than a young pessimist, except an old optimist - Mark Twain
Start of a new year and time to record the first open snowdrop flower. See here for last year's report and links to previous years.
I first noticed the snowdrop flowers had opened on 19th January (Photo 1) ...
Photo 1: Garden Snowdrops on 19th January 2026
... though the flowers were out and partially open on the 12th January (Photo 2) ...
Photo 2: Garden Snowdrops on 12th January 2026
According to the Woodland Trust's Nature Calendar, the time to record the first flowering date is when the petals have opened just enough to see inside the flower. This clearly was the case on January 12th (Photo 2) but it may have been a few days earlier.
For the past five years, the snowdrop 'first flowering' date has been fairly consistent (from the 12th to 14th day of the year) except for 2024 (Figure 1). What was so special about the 2024 event?
Figure 1: Day Number of the Year for First Flowering of Garden Snowdrops
Of course, the species/cultivar, soil-type and location (local and geographical) will be factors as to when the first flower opens. These factors are constant for this particular patch of snowdrops. Temperature is considered the primary driver controlling how early the snowdrop opens. Moisture (enough but not too much or too little) might be important, especially in autumn, during the root development stage.
I checked past weather data collected from my Davis Weather Station located just a few metres from the snowdrop patch. Autumn 2023 was warm with sufficient rain (i.e not drought or flood) to encourage root development. September 2023 is the warmest September in our garden since records began in 2019. Perhaps more importantly, December 2023 was also the warmest December on record (Figure 2) and would have stimulated the early appearance of snowdrop flowers in January 2024.
Figure 2:Average Monthly Winter Temperatures
Note: in Figure 2, Winter is defined as December, January and February and the three months are contiguous; i.e. December 2023, January 2024 & February 2024 are part of the same 'winter' set for 2024
Summarizing, a warm December (mean 8 ℃) is conducive to early January flowering of our garden snowdrops. Cooler temperatures in December (4 - 7 ℃) lead to flowering times in the middle of January (12th to 14th). All these dates are much earlier than the UK average (2001 - 2020) of January 26th.
And, yes, I've added this year's first flowering to Nature's Calendar.
Argumentum ad hominem (usually just referred to ad Hominiem) is a logical fallacy in which an interlocutor's character, appearance, expertise and/or manners are maligned instead of directly addressing the truth or substance of their argument. For example:
Baldrick: I have a plan
Blackadder: Is it a cunning plan?
Baldrick: Yes it is a cunning and subtle plan
Blackadder: You wouldn't recognize a subtle plan if it painted itself purple and danced naked on a harpsichord while singing "subtle plans are here again"
Rather than discussing the merits, or otherwise, of Baldrick's plan, Blackadder just attacks Baldrick's intelligence.
Ad hominem translates as 'to the person' or 'against the person' and refers to the use of a personal attack instead of addressing the argument itself. Note that simply insulting someone (e.g. Donald Trump referring to 'Sleepy Joe' or Crooked Hilary' in one of his rambling speeches) is not an ad hominem fallacy unless the name calling is meant to discredit the opponent's argument.
There are 5 common types of ad hominem fallacies:
Abusive ad hominem: insulting a personal trait or characteristic such as 'What do you know about the offside rule in football, you're just a woman'.
Circumstantial ad hominem: also known as an appeal to motive where you criticize a person's perceived bias based on their job or situation. For example: 'Of course you believe in global warming so you can just get more grant money'.
Poisoning the well: this is where you get your character assassination in early before the discussion has started. For example: 'My opponent is going to argue against renewable energy because she works for an oil company'.
Guilt by association: an assumed bias by virtue of being a member of a particualar group or association. For example: 'You are against free choice for women because of your religious beliefs' or 'Your ideology is capitalism so obviously you want lower taxes'.
Tu quoque: translates as 'you, too' and is a form of ad hominem when used to imply your debate opponent is being hypocritical rather than addressing their argument. For example: 'How can you advocate for tougher drink/driving laws when you've been convicted for the same offence?'
The ad hominem fallacy is the worst form of rhetoric when used as an argument. There is no substance to the argument (i.e. no thought or intelligence) and it is completely devoid of logic or reason. It will, therefore, come as no surprise to discover that Donald Trump Jr is the world's leading proponent of this fallacy. Here are just three examples of many ...
In conclusion, you should always avoid using the argumentum ad hominem fallacy unless you want to come across as a low IQ unstable genius!
On a final point, describing a person's intelligence, position, credentials, etc is not an ad hominem fallacy if those traits and abilities are relevant to the discussion/argument. For example, if someone with no medical training is giving medical advice, then it is fair criticism to point out that fact without committing an ad hominem fallacy. On that basis, it is fair criticism to point out that someone who thinks a cognitive test for the onset of dementia is some form of IQ test is probably not the sharpest tool in the shed!
Although not part of the standard suite of tests performed by the Wye Alliance citizen science project, the measurement of 'ammonia' is important due to its toxicity towards aquatic life and as an indicator of pollution from sewage, agricultural run-off (fertilizers) and waste discharge from various sources (residential, commercial and industrial). Some groups within the Wye Alliance (e.g.Wye Salmon Association) have been monitoring ammoniacal nitrogen for a number of years; however, this analysis may be deployed more widely within the River Wye Catchment in the future.
Ammonia, NH₃, and its conjugate acid - the ammonium ion, [NH₄]⁴ - co-exist in water with the latter predominating in most natural water systems where the pH is typically between 6.5 and 8.5 (Figure 1). Ammonia is toxic to aquatic life even at concentrations below 1 ppm whereas the ammonium ion is less harmful. Ammonium ions are converted to toxic ammonia by increases in both pH (i.e. more alkaline) and temperature.
Figure 1: Effect of pH on Ammonia/Ammonium Equilibrium
The Nessler reaction is used to quantify the total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) in water. The colour-forming reagent (potassium tetraiodomercurate II) reacts with ammonia to form a yellow (Photo 2) to reddish brown (Photo 3) complex. The intensity of the colour is proportional to the concentration of the ammonia. The reaction is carried out under strongly alkaline conditions (pH >11) to convert all the ammonium ions to ammonia (see Figure 1). Values are reported as TAN ppmN; i.e. the nitrogen concentration in the water that is present as either ammonia or ammonium. To quantify the toxic free ammonia concentration in the original water sample, you will need to measure its temperature and pH and use an on-line calculator.
Test kits for ammonia come in various forms:
Test strips (e.g. SimplexHealth) which are cheap and easy to use (just dip into the water) but less accurate as they rely on visual colour matching against a colour card
Liquid reagent kits (e.g. API Ammonia Test Kit) where reagents are added to a water sample in a test-tube and the resulting colour is matched against a colour card. Possibly a little more accurate than the test strips but still subjective.
Colorimeters such as the Hanna Checker Ammonia range where reagents (liquids or tablets) are added to the water sample in a cuvette and the colour intensity measured optically. Good accuracy at a reasonable price though more expensive than the first two options.
About a year ago, I bought a Hanna Low Range Ammonia Checker for use within our small group (the Belmont Testers) who regularly test the Newton Brook, a small tributary to the River Wye. The kit (Photo 1) comes with two glass cuvettes and two small bottles of reagent (Reagent A is a sodium hydroxide solution and Reagent B is a potassium tetraiodomercurate II solution) sufficient for 25 tests. I now buy the reagents in larger bottles sufficient for 100 tests as this is more economical.
Photo 1: Hanna Checker for Ammoniacal Nitrogen (0.0 to 3.0 ppmN)
The procedure is very simple:
rinse the cuvette and cap three times with the sample
fill cuvette to the 10 ml mark with sample
switch on the Checker unit so that 'C1' is displayed, insert the filled cuvette, close the lid and press the button (this is the sample blank)
when 'C2' is displayed, remove the cuvette and add 4 drops of Reagent A, cap and mix for a couple of seconds
add 4 drops of Reagent B, cap and mix for a couple of seconds
put the cuvette back in the Checker unit, close the lid and perform a long press until 3:30 appears on the display
3 minutes and 30 seconds later, the result appears on the display
finally, empty the contents of the cuvette down the toilet and wash with warm water followed by 3 rinses with distilled or de-ionised water.
the cuvettes can be left to dry although I prefer to store them filled with distilled water
Below I've included a couple of photos showing how the intensity of colour changes with increasing TAN content.
Photo 2: Unreacted and Reacted Samples containing 0.3 ppm TAN
Photo 3: Reacted Sample (>3 ppm TAN)
In Part 2 we will look at some typical results obtained during our citizen science work.
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