A Frosty Day!

Well, it's an awfully long time since I've posted anything on this blog, but I thought I'd have a go at resurrecting it, since I'm currently full of post-Christmas enthusiasm for eating more healthily, taking more exercise, attempting to keep the house tidier, and generally trying to be happier/more positive!

Woke this morning to find a hard frost had transformed the world into a glittering wonderland, made more magical by the mist which softened and blurred everything slightly, so I donned my warmest clothes, and set off for a walk - it was much too nice to be cooped up inside, and I am trying to get back into the routine of walking somewhere every day, even if it is only a short distance. I went down the main road that leads into town, over the canal, through the park, through the Castle Grounds alongside the River Anker, over the bridge, and into town, then back over the river (different bridge this time) and back up the hill to home. Everything looked so beautiful, so I took lots of photos.

The Coventry Canal on a frosty, misty morning, looking towards Amington
from the Glascote Road Bridge (also known as Bridge No 73, or the Anchor
Bridge, after a pub which used to stand nearby.

On the other side of the road the bridge over the canal was festooned with frost-rimed cobwebs.



 



View along the canal, from the Glascote Road Bridge, towards Kettlebrook.
There's a boat moored by the towpath, and can you see bits of ice floating
in the water.



MacGregor Park, given to Tamworth 'in perpetuity' by Victorian vicar and philanthropist
William MacGregor. It looked lovely, with the frost glittering in the sunshine, and trees
outlined against the blue sky.

This photo doesn't really show it all that well, but the fallen leaves and the grass were all edged
with frost, like sugar around the rim of a glass. But underneath each tree was a frost-free area -
perhaps the branches protect those areas, or perhaps the roots make the ground warmer.
I shall have to find out!

The Arches (there are 19 of them, carrying the railway line across the Anker Valley) looked
positively picturesque (they don't always!)

A magnificent heron, in a tree on a little island bit in the River Anker as it
runs through the Castle Grounds. There are lots of herons in and around Tamworth,
and I'm always amazed at how close they come to built-up areas and human
habitation - this one is right beside a busy carpark.
 

A  view in the Castle Grounds. I thought this looked so beautiful, I couldn't resist trying
 to capture it on camera. 

And another nice scene! I think this is a storm channel rather than a stream, but it attracts lots of
wildlife, and on a bright sunny winter day, with frost on the ground, and a slight mist, it looks
almost like a fairy tale landscape. By the time I got this far the sun had melted some of the frost,
and drops of ater water were dripping through the trees like rain!
 

AI love this shot of the bare trees against the sky. They always look quite dramatic, especially
 at this time of year hen they've shed their leaves. I think they're poplars, but I don't know a lot
about trees.

The silver birches have lost most of their old bark, and the new white 'skin' really gleamed in
the sunshine, looking even brighter against the small patches of old greenish brown bark.

Tamworth is very urban, but we are very lucky to have some lovely little green spaces, and the
Castle Grounds is just about the best. I love it here - the beauty, and the sense of history, and the
air of peace. Sadly, structures like the Snowdome, the Ankerside Shopping Centre and the
  multi-storey flats all intrude on the views, especially in winter when most of the trees are
bare, so it takes a bit of ingenuity trying to find spots where you can take photos that don't show
modern buildings.
 

Another frozen cobweb! Bridges, railings, benches and all kinds of plants were
festooned with them. If cobwebs looked like this throughout the year I'm sure
it would make us see spiders in a different light. I wish I could 'pick' these and keep them!

This yellow mahonia makes me feel happy on the dullest days, but it was amazing today -
really glowing in the sunshine.

The Castle and the Bandstand. They're not lopsided - I didn't hold  the camera straight!
The Castle dates back to Norman times, and I take lots of pictures of it because it looks
different at different times of day, and in different weather, and I love that. Today it was
very pink, which is the best I think. Sometimes it looks greyer.

My Week!

Oh dear, I was going to be so good, and blog every other day, and it’s been over a week since I last wrote anything here, so I’m going to post some words and pictures about my week. Let’s start with last Sunday, when the Man of the House joined me for a walk along the Coventry Canal. We went up as far as Fazeley Aqueduct, which runs over the River Tame. And you can look down and see water below you, as well as the water beside you, which always amazes me. It was a very grey drizzly sort of day, and there were raindrops hanging everywhere, so I took this picture of raindrops hanging from one of the metal work on one of the beam bars at the lock - not my usual style of photography, but I am trying to get some different and more un usual shots, instead of landscapes and flowers. 

Raindrops on metal... I liked the way the drops of water contrasted with
the rusty marks on the metal handle.

Then we went into town and treated ourselves to Sunday lunch, and had a wander round. Children were singing in the Market Square, as part of the celebrations for the Christmas Lights ‘Switch-On’, and there were craft and food stalls selling all kinds of goodies, including these home-made pies, which the Moth (the Man of the House, remember!)

We were assured that no penguins were hurt making this pir!

We  were a little alarmed at the Penguin Pie, but it turned out to be filled with fish and penguins eat fish, so I guess it’s pie for penguins, not pie of penguins! Penguins seem to be everywhere at the moment, so I dug out an old Jean Greenhowe knitting book with patterns for these…

Right, which penguin shall I try and knit?

Actually, I prefer crochet, but these are kind of cute, and I’ve always meant to have a go at them, and I’ve got black and white wool in the stash, and some knitting needles, so perhaps now is the time to knit a penguin!

I’m trying to walk every day, so on Monday off I went to Warwickshire Moor, one of our local ‘wild spaces’. It’s a small remnant of what was once a large area, and it’s not how I think of a moor at all – we’re definitely not talking Dartmoor here! It lies alongside the River Anker, and there are lots of little pools, and streams and drainage channels, with reed beds, and grassy areas, and a small wood. In summer it’s glorious, with masses of dragonflies and butterflies and all sorts of other insects, and a lot of the water dries up. But in winter every little dip and hollow fills with water, and the land oozes water with every step you take, but there’s still plenty to see and enjoy.

The viewing/dipping platform is usually well above the River Anker,
but there's been a lot of rain, and the water is very high.

Mud, glorious mud.... Wellies might have been better!

 On Tuesday I woke to a different world – there had been a hard frost overnight, and everything was encrusted with thick, white, icy crystals, while all the puddles had frozen solid, and everything was festooned with cobwebs which looked as if they had been spun from twisted cotton threads. They were unbelievably beautiful, so I grabbed the camera, and went out for a walk to snap them – and I got some jolly strange looks and comments from people who obviously thought I was a madwoman!  

A cobweb, covered in frost.

Sadly, by the next day the temperature had risen, all those magical cobwebs had vanished, and the weather was back to a grey, murky, misty, drizzle, so I walked to Lakeside (another of our little ‘wild spots’) looking for some colour to brighten the day. And I found it! Golden leaves glowed through the mistiness, and all kinds of red berries positively shone through the gloom in the most cheery fashion you could imagine. And I met lots of dog walkers, who all stopped for a chat, and one of them recommended other places to walk, and another told me about Thailand, where he used to work, so it turned into a very sociable morning! 

A rosy view of life... There were lots of rosehips, in all shapes and sizes.

Bright and shiny holly berries. 

Thursday was Oxfam day, and I was busy in the Lichfield Books and Music Shop – I only walked as far as the bank and the sandwich shop.

Me and my Oxfam brolly pictured outside our lovely shop earlier
in the year - but I've used it so yuo can see how nice our shop is.

However, on Friday I donned my walking boots again, and the Moth went with me, down through the Castle Grounds, which are beautiful at any time of year, and into town where we browsed around the shops, and ended up enjoying a restorative lunch in Wetherspoons before wending our way home!

Tamworth Castle.

For some reason Saturday was a ‘bleh day’ when I lacked the energy and enthusiasm to do anything, and when nothing seemed to go right, so I sat crocheting a blanket, which is now big enough to go over my knees while I work, and is all snuggly and comforting!

Snug as a bug in a rug... Or a blanket!

And that brings us back to Sunday again, and a walk round Alvecote Wood, which is one of my favourite places. It’s a patch of ancient woodland, full of dappled light, which always makes me think of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem, ‘Pied Beauty’. There’s a wildflower meadow, and pools, and all kinds of plants, fungi, birds, insects and other wildlife, and it’s very beautiful, and very peaceful. Owners Stephen and Sarah, bought the wood after falling in love with it seven years ago, then acquired some adjoining land, and planted new trees. They’ve won environmental awards for the work they do to preserve and improve the area. This was their last Open Day of the year, and the wood will be closed to the public until the new programme of Open Days gets under way in the spring.

If you go down to the woods today...