December, the last month of the year and a last walk from my local forest. Not all photos are from the same walk as with approximately 150 walks there over the year, the selection of images used over the past two weeks have inevitable been taken from more than one walk in each month.
It’s a steep path into the forest from the road but during a murky November when the days are getting very short the stillness that can be found there when the wind isn’t blowing is a real treat. Don’t get me wrong, I like the sound of the wind, but I also like the quiet peacefulness amongst the trees of this small forest when the sound of the motorway to the west is not carried over the hill. Even in the upper, thinner parts of this woodland, in amongst the spiky gorse, the air can be still and the sound of the conversing birds carries through the trees.
Having covered the first half of the year of my walks in a local forest month by month and keeping to the format of posts I have been using for a year now (I think that will change next year), today I am looking back over the past week’s posts and selecting two images from each month/post. To head them up I have chosen one from April with the sun peeking through the trees.
My walk this week started with the birth of an alpaca – a Spring / early Summertime event that was reflected in all that surrounded me on this walk, including these bright yellow buttercups on the banks of the lake at The Waterside. A place I will be visiting again next week so I guess I will get to see how the little ‘un is getting on and may even meet another newborn from what I have heard.
buttercups in the valley
Listen to the soundscape and take a loo at the image sequence at the same time
The Waterside Walk Soundscape
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You may have noticed that I have recently changed the title of these end of the week posts to “Reviewing the Walk” rather than “Reviewing the Week”. It seems such an obvious thing to do, I don’t understand why I haven’t done it sooner.
This weeks misty walk on the hills ends with a view over the town that shows the mist is still lingering there. I foundContinue reading
With the mist swirling around on my walk this week, the colours in this first photo are, if anything, stronger than they were in reality. I couldn’t remember for sure when it came to post processing. The second shot in this short sequence is even less distinct but is more representative of my memory of the scene.
Dew drops on grass and spiders webs in the early morning – an irresistible subject for photography.
Soon after taking photos of the dew on grass, I was presented on my walk with a spider web sporting the same phenomenon,Continue reading
Climbing on up to the top of the hill on my walk this week naturally changed the views of the landscape again. Having done this walk four or five times in the week, you can see the changing weather from day to day.
Through the recent weeks of Winter the changeable weather within one day, or even within an hour, might have accounted for all these photos. The last week or two, however, have been much drier and whilst still changeable, it is a welcome break from so much rain and hints at the season changing to Spring.
The sound clip below illustrates something of the current weather both in the birdsong and also in the crunch of the bracken underfoot as I walk across the hill to another viewpoint.
Birds and Bracken
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