A very cold area of high pressure has swept across Northern Europe from Russia and we are experiencing the first really cold spell of this winter with daytime highs of around -6°C. I would love to join Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for a vase again today, but there is not yet anything I could pick!
So instead a couple of views from brisk walks in the sunshine…
I can feel the cold just by looking at this picture… 😉
This pathway is along the edge of an area of woodland where only beech grow, and being on a south-facing slope it catches the sun nicely, melting the snow and warming the ground enough to allow the first little flowers of our native Hepatica (H.nobilis) to start unfurling…
It is always a major event for me when I see these first blooms! I looked in vain for some Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), which is also one of the very first wild flowers to appear here, but perhaps that needs a few more days of sunshine.
Up on the hills above us the woodland contains mostly evergreens, and the view is quite different…
Sunday afternoon walk (-6°C)
I wonder how your season is progressing this week, as we in the northern hemisphere slowly but surely move towards the spring equinox. I hope you are getting some winter sunshine at least!
Stay warm and cosy!
Words and Herbs 