Winter Colour

Although in recent weeks,

 the main colour to emerge this winter has been the white stuff,

 Snow!

There is definite evidence of the lovely warm colour of red.

So many shrubs & plants with red berries,

 a sign of an extreme winter?

Clusters of Rosehips

All of this mixed in with

 the last of Autumn colour foilage

And, such a surprise on a very bitterly cold day,

 following a recent snowfall,

Small, but Bright Pink roses in full bloom!

Only just surviving I'm sure,

 due to the shelter of the thick stone grey garden wall.

But a welcome sight nevertheless.

Somerset Countryside

River walking & Wild Flowers

A walk along the River Barle,

 takes you to Tarr Steps,

 spanning from one waters edge to the other, 

 situated on Exmoor, Somerset.

Photo taken quite awhile ago,

 but it always makes me smile.

It was a perfect day,

with wild flowers in much evidence.

The Blue Bell, such a favourite.

Creamy yellow from the Cowslips

All in White

Countryside Living

A brief stop of the car,

with a brief encounter of wild flowers,

a herd of cows, definitely in the countryside

This solitary cow wandered from the rest of the herd,

 & appeared to be in hiding from me!

Unfortunately, not enough branches for that.

Even the Stinging Nettles were in flower.

The first sighting of a Ladybird for me this year,

nestled in the leaves of this plant.

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.

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. . . .

Nearly Over

Recently, returned to the Blackdown Hills, where I had visited in July,

when there was an absolute abundance of butterflies, moths,

bees & other nature delights, including a wealth of wild flowers.

The area was very desolate of much of this,

although just managed to capture some of the remains from

the summer season.

A member of the Dandelion.  Although considered as a weed, thought this was stunning.

 Believe me, not a great lover of flies, but this one caught my attention because of it's markings.

Identified it has the Flesh Fly.