Sunday 19 February 2017

More snowdrops

Spotted these on my morning walk with Tilly today. They're so lovely, I just couldn't resist...

Galanthus nivalis - better known as 'Snowdrops'

Tuesday 14 February 2017

My Valentine's gift to you

Since today is St. Valentine's Day I thought I'd dedicate a blog post to something kind of romantic, Mother Nature's own little display of love and affection.

Hearts & Flowers
Well it makes a change from the usual red roses doesn't it? And I'm not lining the pockets of the Gift Card industry who created the whole Valentine's nonsense! 💘

Tuesday 7 February 2017

Another selfie? Yes, sort of!

Having taken the plunge with the selfie thing here a couple of days ago I thought I'd post another.

Usky's Selfie
 Yes it's me, taking a photograph of me... or at least a photograph of my shadow. So, does this qualify as a selfie or not? For me it does since I am both subject and photographer, but I suspect all the selfie purists out there will argue the image can't be a selfie because it doesn't contain a face and probably more importantly, no pout! What's with the whole pouty face thing anyway? Seems daft to me.


There, is that better? 😄

Monday 6 February 2017

Snowdrops

I have been a lifelong fan of these delicate little flowers, it always gladdens my heart to see them. Without doubt they are best enjoyed where they grow naturally carpeting woodland floors or hiding among hedgerows. They also look good when grown domestically in clumps. One of my neighbours has them glowing along her boundary hedge and to me they look so right there.


Of course to really enjoy these little beauties you really need to get up close and personal...

Snowdrops
Lovely aren't they?

Sunday 5 February 2017

A walk in the woods

Took Tilly for a romp in the woods this morning, which she thoroughly enjoyed. No surprises there, she always seems to have fun running in and out among the trees.

I enjoyed it up there today too, despite it being very wet and muddy after all the rain. At least it was dry this morning and there was even some watery sunshine. Fortunately you can avoid the worst of the mud if you venture off the trails and pathways and walk between the trees.

Walking 'off-track' between the trees
For me the only downside of being 'off track' means you are walking on and damaging small plants, in my local wood this means mosses and ferns.

Mossy Growth
I'm sure this kind of moss has a proper name, but I've no idea what that might be. What I do know is I really like delicate little fronds and try not to crush too many plants while I'm walking.

All the fresh green growth reminds me too that Spring is on its way and it will only be a few more weeks before the ground is covered in wood anemone, celandine and  the first of the year's orchids. 😃

Saturday 4 February 2017

The Selfie Thing

I'm not much given to being photographed, I much prefer to be behind the camera than in front of the lens. As a consequence I've avoided taking 'Selfies'... until today that is when I grabbed a couple on my morning walk with Tilly.

I read recently that over 24 billion selfies had been uploaded by Google in 2015. 24 billion? Eh? What the heck's the matter with people? Why do they feel the need to publicly display themselves? It's not something I understand. Perhaps that's because I'm not one of those out-going, self-promoting, photogenic types?

Well anyway I posted a very rare selfie on my blog earlier today and thought I'd treat you lucky people to another... you'd better look quick though, before I destroy the evidence!

See? Told you I wasn't photogenic!

Anyone would think it was cold!

Feeling just a little over-dressed on my morning walk with Tilly...

Anyone would think it was cold!
Turned out to be much warmer than I'd anticipated this morning. Of course the beautiful mid-morning sunshine helped a lot. 😎