A PAUSE TO LOOK AT REEDS

Reeds are here all year round but when bushes die back and green fades out of the landscape they come into their own.

In the summer, there will be flowers either side of this path - daisies and vetches and all sorts of things I don't know the names for but, for now, reeds dominate

 - and they won't stand still. It has been very windy recently. Indeed, to take these pictures it was, at times, hard to stand still, the wind was buffeting so much. They are being blown sideways - and I am too. Weather is contrary. Clouds are coming from the north but wind from the west. This means it is not too cold. An east wind is the coldest here.

It comes blasting up the English Channel. The coast you see is the south coast of Dorset - heading from Weymouth to Kimmeridge and Lulworth.

As evening falls, the light grows colder and the reeds turn silvery

and dull

and dramatic.

(The little white dot in the sky to the right of the reed head is the moon.)

I like reeds.

Photographs taken on the 2nd and 5th of January 2012.
I'm at sea with botanical names. Is Phragmites Communis the same as Phragmites australis?

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PRICKLES AND THORNS

When the weather grows cold and blustery, it’s tempting to look for signs of new growth but do that too much and one misses the season. In January, there’s more dead on show than usual; prickles show clear and thorns are beautifully exposed.

Gorse flowers all year round but in January, when there is less colour than in  other months, the flowers are specially prominent in the dull light.

January is a month when it's easy to see where blackthorn gets its name. Come spring, white blossom will draw the eye and in the summer these long spikes will be hidden in dense foliage.

For most of the year, blackberries mean fruit at some stage but January is a 'look at those thorns!' time.

Buddleia is an exception to this general 'now-ness'. Last years dead blossoms remind us of the year passed.

Hurray for January!

Have a Very Happy

2012

!

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THE BERRIES TURN BLACK FOR CHRISTMAS

Christmas Eve.

The sun touches the elder

and the blackthorn is stark against the sky;

the buddleia has lost its senses

and a magpie pauses.

Best of all, the ivy berries have turned black for Christmas. I didn't think they'd make it but a few have managed to turn in time.

All's well with this little bit of the world.

Hope all is well with you too.

Have a very happy Christmas and a happy, hedgeful 2012.

(All photos were taken today, December 24th 2011.)

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