A Winter Walk

After waking to frost, the sun has been dazzling later in the day, but without any heat, and the frost has soon perished in all but the shadiest of places.

The sun has brought out all the gold in the garden where it glistens in the cold light.  And on the Hydrangea Petiolaris outside the back door I found buds

All I could find along the lanes were the leftovers from Autmn

I take a familiar walk around the village, swaddled in scarf and gloves, to look for early buds or signs of spring - but there were none to be had.  The pink campion is still hanging on to a last flower, a little ragged, but persevering.

A copper leaf in the hedgerow standing out amongst the decomposing leaf litter.

The gold of the lichen on the old bare branches

Ripening berries on the ivy turning from green to red to blueberry blue

And the sun casting my shadow, long and thin, on to the dried stalks of  nettles

After a brisk walk I returned home and saw the sun highlighting a pink primula in the front garden the only plant flowering besides the poor old hebe which I chopped back to within an inch of its life after most of it died back last winter

And finally, just to make you smile

Lots of equine nostrils