The light was diminishing on my walk this week at the NBGW but the late afternoon still revealed some good views and wonderful details. One of my particular favourites in this respect was the Witch Hazel. The Botanic Garden of Wales has many of these and at this time of year they are blossoming with their beautifully coloured and wacky flowers – the colours make me think of the cocktail, Tequila Sunrise!
There was also a crooked oak tree that looked as though it was using one of its own fallen branches as a crooked walking stick to hold itself up. It reminded me of this old rhyme:
The soundscape for this walk was wet and squelchy with bog and mud. However, as I said in the first post for this walk, I think I was so focused on negotiating the mire, that I never got round to recording either the squelching or any of the other sounds.
So in place of the aural reality of this time of year, I am including the field recording from a previous walk at NBGW – the sounds of a Summer walk, one to look forward to.
NBGW Summer Soundscape
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Thanks for taking us on this beautiful winter walk, Alastair. The old oak tree has a majestic place on this peaceful landscape, and I love its walking stick. Great first photo with the gnarled branch. I also enjoyed the summertime soundscape, it was hopeful and like you said, a reminder of times to come. Fun to have the “laughing” duck so prominent. And the witch hazel was a true joy to see, I’ve never seen it before and had no idea it looked like this. It doesn’t look like it would have astringent properties, it’s lovely.
Thank you Jet. Your comments are much appreciated. It wasn’t the brightest of walks but I always try to be positive and look for a different angle on things. I am so pleased we renewed our membership of this place and can go anytime we like.