Birds in Winter

Birds in Winter

On my Winter walks I am amazed at how many seagulls flock to the little lake, and this year, congregate on the flat cushions of algae and water weed.

I love the way they like to line up along railings and across the top of lampposts.

Last Winter the lake froze over and the swans had great difficulty walking over the ice, but they managed it to reach some bread offered by a generous family.

Winter Walk

A Walk in Winter

A few days ago we went out on a really windy day. There were only a few trees that still had a couple of raggy leaves left. Most trees were completely bare of leaves, just twigs and branches; and the words "barren landscape" came to mind.

Everything looks so dead!

Even the rooks' nests are abandoned.

but later that day there were some lovely Winter skies.

Winter Came

Bare Trees

I thought I might try my hand at being a bit more creative in my descriptions of my photos, a bit more poetic? Any way here goes. This is called Winter Came.

Winter Came

It came in the night

Roaring and howling

Hungry!

The trees
 In the morning
Lifting their leafless limbs
Against the scudding sky

The willow wept no more

Bowing her head

As if in shame.

And in the park

A towering tracery of twigs

Against the blue.

They look taller somehow

Majestic in their

Nakedness

Stripped of their

 Autumn 'glad-rags'

Winter came!

November mists

November mists

At the bottom of our street is a very tall landmark and now and again it disappears completely from view! My husband and I always make a joke about it "Someone's come in the night and pinched the lift tower again!"

On a walk, later that day, the countryside looked amazing like an impressionist painting.

And we discovered that they'd only stolen the top half of the tower!

Reflections 2

Reflections 2

Thinking about this word "reflection", it means just that, thinking again about something, maybe in a different way.Maybe in an upside down way.

These are some of my favourite photos.

The lake looks just like a mirror, and sometimes we need to take another look at ourselves maybe an upside-down look!

Reflections

Reflections

"A poor life this if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare." To quote a famous poem.How important it is to take the time to just look and take in all the wonders of nature that surround us, and to be just quiet and let all our senses have a "field day". (An interesting expression!). Water does it for me,the ripples, the reflections, the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds shining from the water. Marvellous!

Upside down trees, and birds skimming across the surface.

I like to sit and take my time and drink in the hush; just rippling sounds and bird song and rustling leaves. Unwinding nature's way!

Cows

Cows

There's something very comforting about cows. They exude peace and tranquillity and they have a kind of beauty in their peacefulness.

This lovely group of mixed colours are resting together in the shade.A picture of contentment.

This young bullock became very curious when I took out my camera!

                                                            What a lovely face!

Swans

Swans

I don't know that I could say that these are my favourite birds, but they are certainly the most photogenic. Whenever I'm out walking and I see them swimming on the lake or just standing on the bank, I just have to photograph them!

This is my favourite swan picture! "Majestic" is the word!

These two are obviously a pair. They mate for life, which is very beautiful.

And here is their offspring.His dowdy feathers will soon be replaced by dazzling white ones.

Leaves, Leaves and more Leaves

Leaves, Leaves and more Leaves

There's no doubt about it, Autumn is the untidiest season of the year! Everywhere, where there are even the smallest of trees, there are heaps of leaves; scattered across pavements, heaped into gutters and against walls,and straggling under hedges.

But all this mess can be forgiven because of the glorious colours!Nature's jewels!

These lovely Birch leaves have such a delicate pattern, and so do these stripy Beech leaves. 

Tons and tons of glorious colour ready to fall and decorate our drab streets.

Last Embers

Last Embers

There's still quite a bit of colour in odd corners. These nasturtiums are very vibrant and lively.I planted them for Summer colour but it's now that they are looking so good.

One of my favourite shrubs is Abelia. In the Autumn it's covered in pink blossom, reminding me of Spring.The elegant sprays are like a bridal bouquet.

And is this "The last rose of Summer"?

Or is this?

Life in the Garden

Life in the Garden

There are a lot more spiders emerging now, and they are growing at a ferocious rate. I hate walking into their fine strands which criss cross the garden between the shrubs.The spider by the bird bath is really big now!

There, are nicer garden occupants though, and Tiger just loves the Autumn sunshine. He stays out all day, under the shrubs when he's too hot,and rolling around on the patio when he wants to sunbathe.

                 

In spite of the fact that he is out in the garden a lot of the time ,these cheerful visitors really enjoy the bird food I put out for them, We are lucky to have a family of sparrows nesting under our eaves every year and it's lovely to see the chicks growing up and thriving.
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Colourful trees

Colourful trees

I love the way some trees at this time of year become a patchwork of colour as the cold air touches the outer leaves. They look particularly wonderful against a background of blue sky.

Some trees of course change dramatically to a brilliant yellow, a golden waterfall of leaves!

I found one that was all sparkly and silver at the top!

Here's another patchwork tree!