Spring Clean - Winter photos

Spring is most definitely here in the UK, and we might be forgiven for hoping that the last of Winter's snow is behind us. I have been looking back over the photos I took over the Winter 2012-2013, and there are a few more that I'd like to share. Think of this as a kind of 'Spring Clean' now the warmer Spring weather is here! I also plan to expand the website Gallery in the near future, adding much more content and organising it into different themes, so keep your eyes open for updates.

A fractured Oak tree, catching the sunrise at Fairmead Bottom

 

Ancient Hornbeam Pollards by the wintry Ching Brook

 


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Dedham Vale, Spring 2013

It would seem that Spring has finally begun in England. The hawthorn and cherry are blossoming, the willow catkins are covered in bright yellow pollen, the daffodils have sprung up on roadsides, birdsong fills the air. To make the most of the clement weather a week back, I visited Dedham Vale on the Essex-Suffolk border, and walked from Flatford to Dedham (and back) along the River Stour.

River Stour in flood near Flatford Mill, Constable Country

  

"Still I should paint my own places best;
painting is with me but another word
for feeling, and I associate “my careless
boyhood” with all that lies on the
banks of the Stour; those scenes made
me a painter, and I am grateful ..."

 - John Constable

The blue skies, the unusual contortions of the willow trees along the river, the flood-waters on the Suffolk side, and the wildlife that is becoming more obvious as the weather warms up; all of this meant a variety of photo opportunities, and a beautiful Spring walk. A selection of photos from the day are found below; I have written more about the natural history interest of the day on my Far-Ranging blog.

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