Tuesday 31 January 2012

Thawing Out

In the middle of the morning, hoar frost still clung to leaf and bracken frond as we set off for a walk around the hill.


The bird bath, in a shaded corner of the garden, was still a solid disc of ice.


Out on the heath, the thaw had begun, but shadowed bracken still crunched frozen underfoot.


I found the old hidden clump of mistletoe in a hawthorn tree.


A group of ponies breakfasted on young gorse shoots.



The uphill lane was shaded. Puddles were criss-crossed with shafts of ice.


From the hilltop, mist rose from the wet, thawing heath and the lane snaked away towards the village road.


A little band of young Forest ponies rested in a sunny spot. One of them stood beside her companions, alert and on the lookout. The others dozed in the quiet morning at the edge of the wood.





15 comments:

Bovey Belle said...

What lovely photos. I am so glad to be viewing them from the warmth of my sofa, covered in blankets and a hotty botty though!

Kath said...

I love it when a pony feels relaxed enough to lay flat out like that. My Highland laid flat out in her stable like that and would allow visitors to enter and sit with her. She was more like a dog than a pony!

Gretel said...

Ohh lovely frost, I think frost and ivy are one of the better things about winter!

angryparsnip said...

What wonderful photos. I was going to say loved the first two the best but then the ponies appeared...
Cuteness times a hundred.

cheers, parsnip

Anonymous said...

Such lovely images, thank you.

Mum said...

You live in such a wonderful area.
Love from Mum
xx

The Weaver of Grass said...

Charming photographs - looks as though the sun finally came out.

WOL said...

I love that second photo. That looks like a plant we have here called "hen and chickens".

Aunt Jane's Attic said...

I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award... you can read more about it on my blog.
Hope you can accept it. Julie xxx

BilboWaggins said...

Lovely photos, especially the second one; sempeverium? This winter has been so wet it looks like the few I had look like have rotted.

Morning's Minion said...

Frost makes such beautiful patterns. The gorse looks quite unappealing as fodder--rather like the sagebrush of the American west. I always marveled how the herds of antelope could stay fit on a diet of sage and the coarse short grass of the high desert.
Time outside on a crisp day is exhilerating--as long as there is the promise of returning to the fireside and a mug of tea.

Goosey said...

Lovely evocative photos of the frost, I love the frost on the little rosette plant, beautiful.

thelma said...

The ponies look so comfortable in the dried bracken you could almost stroke them, lovely photos capturing this winter cold...

Rowan said...

Lovely frosty photos, everything looks so magical with a layer of frost. I love those photos of the ponies too.

Dartford Warbler said...

Aunt Jane - Thank you! I shall visit your blog to find out more......

Bilbo - The rosettes are, I think, a variety of saxifrage. I`ll take a photo of their flowers in the summer.

Tonight, the temperature is dropping again so the ponies will have a cold night.