Sunday 14 February 2010

A February Sunday

Grey, damp cold. Sleet showering down in the early morning. Birds hungry and waiting for seed to be thrown. A thin sheet of ice on water troughs. Mud underfoot. On this February Sunday, Winter seemed to be winning.

Somewhere in the garden, among bare trees and up in the hedgerows, signs of a change are coming. Spears of new leaves pierce the earth . First flowers surprise with colour.

Fruits of ivy in the hedge, awaiting blackbirds , song thrushes and migrant redwings hungry for food.

Viburnum tinus opens first flower clusters in shades of pink.

Snowdrops in bud, hide among fallen leaves and wait for the sun.

Breaking buds of elder leaves against a grey morning sky.

Seed heads of Solidago (Golden Rod).

The first Pulmonaria flowers of the year.


Mahonia japonica is almost breaking bud. Lime green will turn to vibrant yellow as the sweet scented flowers mature.


Woody the New Forest pony is fascinated by my camera!

A patch of heather against leaves of sage.




A bright gold sunset tonight, and mist rising over the land as pastel light darkened above the Purbeck Hills.

4 comments:

ChrisJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ChrisJ said...

(I will try again. Too many typos.) I know it's cold but your blog makes it look warm. I'd even put up with a light drizzle, if it were warm. My favorite is warm rain and that means NO WIND. I always forget how windy it is in England. What I would really like is our temperatures and your countryside! Sadly, it doesn't work like that! Love the snowdrops and the new pony's nose!

Bovey Belle said...

Your Elder is WAY ahead of ours! Loved the photo of Woody's nose!!! And the beautiful beautiful sunsets . . .

Morning's Minion said...

Such lovely photos. The one thought sustaining me in the uproar of this upcoming cross-country move is that we shall be where winters are not so long. It will be interesting to look for signs of spring during early March in Kentucky.