January

January this year started off very wet and now its very cold. I prefer the latter although this year the cold spell that followed the above average rainfall has led to some treacherous icy conditions on the smaller lanes around here. The main roads are okay although there is still some ice but the water running off the fields into the lanes makes them into ice rinks. We've limited our walks to the village only, these frosty photographs are from the cold snap before Christmas.

Halfway through January and the afternoons are lighter. On bright sunny days it feels like spring, snowdrops are in flower and even some early daffodils. We seem to be in a hurry to "get through" winter, a place we'd rather not linger. It certainly has its challenges with recent flooding and cold interupting day to day life but for those of us lucky enough to be able to stay warm and dry, it can be a peaceful time to be inside. Winter evenings are when I am content to knit or read, activities that sit well with lower winter energy levels. So although I welcome the lighter days, I want to enjoy this season where I feel I can slow down a little.

January

January was a full month, lots going on but activity curtailed in the middle of the month when we both went down with an exhausting flu-type bug. I didn't take the opportunity to rest with the result that I still don't feel up to full strength yet - a lesson to be learned there, trying to keep going and ignoring the tiredness and cold symptoms doesn't seem to work for me as I get older, must slow down and rest.

A couple of weeks ago we spent a weekend in Edinburgh visiting our youngest son. The weather was bright and sunny and we managed a short walk in the Pentland Hills. This was the most snow I have seen so far this winter!

It was a glorious day to be out, wonderful to have access to the countryside so close to the city.

Back down in the city, a closer view towards the castle from Princes Street gardens.

Glimpses of the back of some of the buildings of the Royal Mile through the trees

and down at ground level, the first snowdrops

and a relatively tame urban rabbit!

Back at home we had several cold days,

no snow but very heavy frosts that lasted all day.

The water running from the fields froze on the lane making the daily walk more treachorous than usual.

This last weekend we went to the south coast for the day. It is a year since my father-in-law died and we wanted to visit the crematorium. We left home early and enjoyed a walk by the sea.

The beach huts are all closed up at this time of the year

but still look attractive against the hill.

Even in January the plants form a softly coloured tapestry of different textures.

Finally a hint that spring isn't too far away, the seaside daisy, Erigeron glaucous, blooming alongside the promenade.

early spring

It was good to get out for a walk and some fresh air this week. The ploughed fields lie bare

and there are still plenty of dried seed heads on the verges.

There was a wintry feel and the signs of spring weren't obvious until I started looking more closely.

After what feels like weeks of grey skies and rain there has been some sunshine.

The gorse

and blackthorn are blooming.

Closer to the ground I spotted daisies

a few celandines

and a small clump of snowdrops. There are many gardens with impressive displays of snowdrops at this time of year (last year I went to Welford Park to see them) but it is always nice to see a single clump nestling at the base of a hedge.

The cow parsley  leaves are emerging, bright green along the banks, definitely signs of spring.

frosty

Temperatures here have fallen and we are getting a taste of winter. There has been a heavy frost the last couple of nights and the car thermometer read -6.5ºC when I took my husband to the station at 6:30 this morning.

It was cold scraping the ice off the car but once the sun came out I could appreciate how pretty everything looked.

Even the puddles look attractive with a layer of ice

and in the ditches at the side of the road the ice formed around dried stems

making unusual patterns.

The sun is shining now and the frost is melting away.

Its the end of the road for this geranium which has been flowering since last summer. I have some cuttings on a windowsill indoors so there will be another generation for next summer.

winter warmth

The weather is continuing unseasonably mild. I took the photograph of these daffodils on Christmas morning, blooming near the village Christmas tree!

Yesterday I found the first snowdrop in the garden

and there are new shoots on the Elder bush.

The hedges are full of honeysuckle shoots, it feels more like spring than December.

There was a slow-worm basking in the sunshine in the road. It was wide awake and slithered away as I got close to photograph it. Slow-worms usually hibernate between October and March.

Further along there were celandines 

and the first violet. During mild winters a few flowers appear early in the season but there are so many "signs of spring" here tis year. Flowers that I look for through January have already appeared.

In England this has been the warmest December since records began. With a mean temperature of 9.5ºC, it is 5º warmer than the average and 2ºC warmer than the previous record set in 1934.

This article in today's Guardian explains why warmer temperatures lead to increased rainfall with the devastating consequences seen in this country and abroad. Meteorologists tell us that individual events do not indicate climate change but it seems to me that the many changes occurring at the same time in different parts of the world point towards a shift in the world climate.

Storm "Frank" has reached the UK today bringing more misery to many parts of the country and with the possibility that it will cause major changes to temperatures over the North Atlantic.

December quiet

After the recent blustery weather it was pleasant to wake up to a still quiet day yesterday. We had to go into town in the afternoon which I knew would be very crowded, busy and noisy so to try to achieve some balance I enjoyed a slow quiet walk with my camera in the morning.

Very few remaining leaves on the branches

so the woodland appears much lighter and open as you can see through the deciduous trees.

After the overnight rain, droplets of water

clung to the vegetation.

I tried to take a close up and you can just about see a little upside down world in each droplet.

Muddy puddles at the side of the road

but splashes of colour in the woods and hedges.

Only a week to the shortest day and the two coldest months of winter still to come but already there are new shoots on the honeysuckle,

many shades of fresh green even in December.