1st January 2011

Sincerely hope 2011 takes you

on the pathway you  are hoping to follow

And lead you to where you want to be

Enjoy the New Year  Day's

& the days to come....



Willett Hill

A walk taken a few weeks ago in the Somerset countryside.

It is definitely a hill! 

 But thankfully,

 a gradual gradient,

 walking through woodland in a spiral direction. . . .

Finally,

with a walk through the bracken flanked with small trees,

 the top of the hill was in sight.

The ruin of Willett Tower. . . .

Over the hill, looking back,

the tower is shadowed with the lowering sun.

But, what an amazing view, the Somerset countryside



Beyond the Church Gates

Visited the Parish Church at North Curry, Somerset,

as my friend is getting married there on Saturday.

Wasn't quite sure where the church was,

so took the opportunity to get my bearings.

A beautiful church in a village setting.

Ancient grave stones showing the elemnents of time. . . .

Shrubs in  blossom. . . .

Gateways leading off into the countryside. . . .

Back through the gateway of the Lytch Gates,

until Saturday.

Sunday Walking

An enjoyable walk in East Quantoxhead & the Quantocks,

 close to Kilve & Holford.

The collage above,

 highlights some of the things we saw,

 even Camilla's in flower,

 a beautiful bit of  colour.

Good to see some broom in flower,

 although such a prickly plant!

Sheep roamed on the hillsides of the Quantocks. . . .

Discovered various Fungi,

these presented themselves on fallen branches,

 in amongst the decayed bracken.

Even enjoyed a Sunday lunch at The Hooded Arms Inn, Kilve.

A perfect end to the walk.

Stray Feathers

With another walk around Slimbridge,

Wetlands for Geese, Ducks & Birds,

plenty of loose feathers can be sighted on the ground,

 or even more eyecatching,

becoming caught in plants & trees,

 often delicately blowing in the wind.

A Changing Season

Signs starting to show,

 that the winter season is beginning to change . . . .

Hints of growth begin to emerge.

From blossom to catkins. . . .

From Snowdrops . . . .

To Pussy Willow.

A fallen flowerhead,

 showing how beautifully detailed & colourful the inside of a Snowdrop really is.

The teasels that remain from the Autumn & Winter add to the charm.

The days of daylight becoming longer . . .

Very encouraging. . . .

A Stroll

With a visit to one of the town's oldest parks yesterday,

I was amazed at the amount of mistletoe that adorned so many trees.

Not just a sprig of mistletoe, but huge balls of the plant.

The plant attaches its roots deep into the tree trunks.

From earliest times in history,

 the plant has been associated with European Folklore,

 where it has been considered to be a magical,

 mysterious & sacred plant.

With Christmas tradition,

 it is now more associated with 'kissing under the mistletoe.'

Strolling around the park,

I noticed some of the shrubs starting to come to life,

 with its first flowering of the year.

A welcoming sight!

Just a Glimpse

Just love this combination of photo's, all taken on the Somerset Levels.

The sun trying to enter the daylight from behind the clouds.

The sun certainly did make some effort on that day.

All of the same scene but taken at different  zoom lenghts.

Very effective as a collage. 

Floods & Reflections

Completely surprised by the extent of the flooding

on the Somerset Levels. . . .

Evenso, due to the watery  change of the landscape,

this created some very scenic viewing. . . .

Just love the reflections of the trees & bushes,

 that were edging the individual fields,

which had now been overtaken by the vast amount of flood water.

Quite breathtaking in this bittersweet setting.

Ivy & Lichen

Visited Burrow Mump on the Somerset Levels,

mainly to see the extent of the floods,

But I can't resist taking an interest in some of the lichen that you see growing.

Such lovely colourings,

 which is of no surprise to learn that these plants have been used for dyes,

 & even medicines.

There are thousands of species to be found.

A plant which  is also very slow growing.

Another favourite is Ivy, an evergreen which also likes to invade trees.

The lichen I had found nearly covered every single branch of the thorny tree.

I just wonder how long that process had taken.

After the Thaw

Although the snow tried to linger,

a bit of rain & the snow went as quick as it came. . . .

The trees stand high & tall in total bareness once again. . . .