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!

Out of the Blue

Saturday, a quiet day in due to winter germs!

Quite frustrating, as although a cold day,

 the sky is beautifully blue & bright with no signs of rain,

which has inspired to seek through my archive of photos,

to find anything associated with the colour blue.

A mixture of flowers to blue skies with trees or grasses aiming high. . . .

Even a resting Peacock taken at Kew.

And, the Statue of Liberty, New York,

 looks outstandingly supreme with its deep blue backdrop,

(Photograph taken by my daughter)

The blueness of skies & sea,

 from the British coastline at Portland, Dorset,

to a photo taken in Tobago a few years ago,

 with its blue sea hightlighting seashells.

Tranquil & warm.

From Winter to Summer, what a thought. . . .

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. . . .

A Quest.

Saturday, although the car started first time since we've had all this snow & cold icy weather,

I decided to walk to a Country Feeds store.

Would have been so quick in the car,

 but well aware the side roads were well iced up. 

Although it was quite cold with a slight chilly wind,

the skies were lovely & blue. 

 I took my time & quite enjoyed the trek.

The store had now moved into a much more modern building,

 but it was situated further away.

Fortunately, there was a slight shortcut with a footpath,

& as I looked behind me,

I noticed the  hills in the distance covered with its blanket of snow.

But venturing on . . . .

I came across a well frozen pool of water,

 which would normally be flowing into a stream close by.

At the end of the footpath, the Sun did not disappoint.

 

But in completing my quest,

 the bird feeders were able to be  replenished

with wild bird seed, peanuts & fat balls.

~   ~   ~

Much needed in this weather.

A Winter's Day

Woke up to Snow. . .

A total disruption to the day. . . .

Not only at my home but all over the country. . . .

The weather created many pretty pictures,

 but the cold was gripping with a very icy chill factor.

London for Shops

During this pass week, I have travelled to London twice.

The first time, was last Tuesday  to have a look around the shops.

If you're going to the shops in London, then Harrods is definitely worth a look,

so much to see although many price tags are certainly far too expensive for the average person to consider.

Although I'm not ordinarily a person to collect soft toys, I do have a growing collection of Teddy Bears, all of which are from Harrods only.

The one I bought this time, is a medium size Christmas Bear for 2009, entitled 'Rufus'.

One place not to miss in Harrods, is the Food Hall.

Absolute Yum!

Wish I had taken more photos,

 but certainly couldn't resist taking the one above,

 which is a cake with a price tag of £4999.00.

A staggering amount.

But there was far more affordable food,

 which covered a vast range from cheeses, cold meats to chocolates,

cakes & biscuits, besides much more.

The panels of stained glass on the some of the ceilings are absolutely beautiful,

besides other aspects of the store,

It rained all day!

Such a shame, but we visited Kensington, Oxford Circus,

Regent Street & Piccadilly.

Fortunate enough to get a photo of some of the Christmas lights,

but only because I sheltered in a doorway!

Beautiful Scenes

The various aspects of the Quantock Hills are always a pleasure to see,

 regardless of what season or time of the year.

I find that you can never tire of whatever you may see,

 & today was no exception.

A cold, but lovely New Year's Day for 2010.