From the Boss: I know it's not a good photograph, but I do love the way raindrops catch the light.
I delight in walking Fern, my English Springer Spaniel, through the woods and fields around Stanmer and over the South Downs.
Friday 31 December 2010
Thursday 30 December 2010
Wednesday 29 December 2010
Wild flowers
The Friends of Withdean Park are planning to turn this corner of the park into a wild flower meadow. There is a slight problem in that the soil is really a bit too rich as the park was given over to allotments during the last war. The ranger responsible for the park is hoping to use community payback workers to do the heavy job of lifting the turf in time for the seeds to be sown in March.
Tuesday 28 December 2010
Christmas trees
Monday 27 December 2010
Bluebells?
Here? Resting under the snow and getting ready to carpet this part of the wood in just a few months.
Sunday 26 December 2010
Stanmer snow
The snow has gone from the trees but there is still enough on the grass in Stanmer Park and in the fields beyond the village to make things look different.
Saturday 25 December 2010
Friday 24 December 2010
Blue sky at last
What a treat after the dull, grey mornings we have had recently. The snow is going slowly - very slowly.
Thursday 23 December 2010
Wednesday 22 December 2010
Missing gate
These gate posts were put in place yonks ago but there is still no sign of either the gate or the fence. Have they forgotten or were the posts put here by mistake?
Tuesday 21 December 2010
The back lane to Stanmer
This picture was taken last week before the snow arrived. That's just a heavy frost on the ground, although it does look rather like snow on top of the Downs.
Monday 20 December 2010
Sunday 19 December 2010
Hungry gulls
It really irritates me when birds land on my conservatory roof, but our next-door neighbour will insist on feeding the herring gulls on his garage roof.
Saturday 18 December 2010
Friday 17 December 2010
Thursday 16 December 2010
Wolstonbury Hill
Those stunted hawthorns on the lft are round what looks like a dew pond. We'll take a closer look tomorrow.
From the Boss: For the uninitiated, that's pronounced "Woostenberry".
Wednesday 15 December 2010
Tuesday 14 December 2010
Winter sky
Yesterday's picture was looking to the north-west. Today's - taken from almost the same spot - looks towards the south-west across the Downs to the English Channel.
Monday 13 December 2010
A winter afternoon
Mid-afternoon - and already the light is fading. Sheep everywhere, and the Surrey hills far in the distance.
Sunday 12 December 2010
Is that a tank?
One does see the strangest things in barns.
From the Boss: This farm is a good half-mile from the nearest made-up lane along one of the worst-made tracks I have ever seen. I happened to meet the farmer and he explained that he bought this vehicle (personnel carrier?) as he was fed up with being snowed in for weeks at a time. He told me it had only 9 hours on the clock when he bought it - practically brand new.
Saturday 11 December 2010
Friday 10 December 2010
Thursday 9 December 2010
Wednesday 8 December 2010
How's my camouflage?
From the Boss: I think I have mentioned before that Fern is camera-shy. To get her to lie still enough for me to take this picture I had to hold a tennis ball up in one hand with the camera in the other.
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Monday 6 December 2010
Sunday 5 December 2010
Saturday 4 December 2010
Then there was snow
Not a lot around here, but early in the winter all the same. This was what Stanmer Woods looked like.
Friday 3 December 2010
Crisp
There was a frost in the mornings earlier this week which lasted into the afternoon in places, like this spot in Stanmer Woods.
From the Boss: I am still posting pics I took before the snow arrived. We had intended to be going to France today and I had taken a load of pictures to be scheduled for posting while we were away...