Close-up Photography Hardwick Wood

I was a bit late to capture the beautiful frost this morning which rapidly melted in the sunshine but the latter allowed some detailed and colourful close-ups of mosses, lichens and fungi in Hardwick Woods. The birds obviously thought spring might be on the way with Mistle Thrush, Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, and Tits all singing and even a Tawny Owl decided to add to the woodland sound track.

 

Toft Wood After the Snow

Yesterday, as soon as the sun was high enough to thaw the icy bit of Miller's Road for walking, I headed down to Toft Wood with my camera. There was a combination of a light layer of snow on the grounds and trees augmented by frost in the damper parts by the Bourn Brook - a very magical look with the reds of the berries and autumn oak leaves. After half an hour exploring, I headed out of the wood and round to the allotments via the Badger Sett. Very pleased to see plenty of characteristic very broad flat badger footprints at the entrance to the hole (with Rabbit and Pheasant)

A Winter's Day

Yesterday was clear skies from sunrise to moonrise. I walked up to Hardwick Wood to help with the annual coppicing (something I have taken part in for more than 60 years in West Cambridgeshire! The ground was still very frosted but out of the wind pleasant in the sunshine. Lots of tiny leaf fungi around but no larger ones. The Spurge Laurel, a local wildflower special, is coming into flower. The walk back into the wind was not so good! 

It was a supermoon last night - known as the Cold Moon, a good description so it was a brief walk round the village to view it.

Frozen Mosses and Toadstools Hardwick Wood

A very cold night left ice on all the Mosses and Toadstools in Hardwick Wood which quickly melted as the morning sunshine reached them.

Frosty Toft Golf Course Walk

A few images from the very frosty dawn on January 11th - I was surprised to find so many golfers out on the course - frost must make it difficult to find the ball! Back in the early 70s, when this area was rough pasture, we once ringed 10 different Kingfishers in one day on this stretch of the stream during a similar cold period (thought to be on the move towards the coast following streams etc). I intended to walk further up over the fields towards Wimpole Estate you can see in the distance in the panorama but decided on breakfast instead!!