Engaging With Nature

It was so cold on Friday morning, there was a frost and all I wanted to do was hunker down for the day. I had no intention of leaving the house, but it seemed to warm up as the day wore on and in the afternoon we decided to don our coats and venture out to Lotherton for a walk.

I'm always pleased when I make the effort to get outdoors, I may not feel like going for a walk but it does me the world of good, especially when I see nature starting to wake up all around me.

It won't be long before these daffodils are blooming. Although I've filled my vases with cut stems bought from the supermarket, I haven't seen any daffodils flowering outdoors yet.

The snowdrops have been blooming for a while. There's some good clumps at Lotherton but the few I have in my own garden were there when we moved into the house over twenty eight years ago. They've never spread and though I've tried to introduce more to the garden, they've never taken, so I count myself lucky that I have the few that I do.

The trees are starting to bud. It's a little early for although we've had a mild winter so far, I don't think we're done with the cold weather. February is renowned for being a cold month and it wouldn't be a surprise if there's snow yet to come.

There's lots of mossy logs at Lotherton, they must be a haven for all sorts of wildlife. I can never resist getting my camera up close, it's like a world in miniature when you take a close up shot.

Archie always enjoys his walks at Lotherton, there's lots of lovely smells for him to investigate and lots of other people walk their dogs there for him to pass the time of day with.

I'm no expert where fungi is concerned, there's so many different types and I don't know their names, but I find them fascinating. We always see lots of different varieties when walking through the woods.

We've had some quite blustery weather just lately, so much so that I fear some poor birds have been made homeless. Not only did we find this small nest on the muddy ground but not far away we also saw one of the nesting boxes which had previously been nailed to a tree.

There have always been pathways through the woods at Lotherton but last year, hardcore was laid over them which makes walking in the muddy weather much easier. It's nice to go home with shoes which don't need washing.

Just look at the gnarled trunk of this tree. It's much easier to see the shapes, outlines and features of trees when they're bare, without their usual covering of leaves. There's some wonderful textures to be found.

I'll leave you with a photo of Archie enjoying his walk. We're so lucky to have lots of different places to take him nearby. He's happy wherever we go but I think Lotherton is his favourite place of all.