Saturday 4 December 2021

Welcoming Winter

Occasionally, at this time of year, we are blessed in this part of England with fine days of biting clarity that reveal the tiniest details of the landscape. 



We're off on a circular tour of the woods and fields around Ardeley in Hertfordshire and the first detail made obvious by the piercing morning light was that most of the trees are now stripped of their summer foliage and displaying the intricacies of their twiggy branches. The novelty of this sight, after our lengthy autumn, is almost as welcome as the green leaves of spring or the first golden shades of autumn.



Not that the battered denizen of the hedgerows seen above has changed much over recent seasons. 



We soon found ourselves in an even more ancient feature of the landscape as we travelled along a hidden lane between the trees. It's actually an old Roman road, so has been trodden by pedestrians for almost two thousand years. Roman soldiers once marched where my brother and I were sauntering with much less urgency on this fine but chilly morn.



Oak trees are as tardy as ever in getting on with the business of autumn and still hang on to their golden leaves. Would we find more of these beauties on our walk?



Yes, and this time photographed looking almost straight into the harsh sun which is lighting up the remaining leaves. 



In December the height of the sun at these latitudes, even at midday, is no more than 15° above the horizon. This can make photography difficult, but looked at another way, it means that the "golden hour", that time just before sunset which photographers love, lasts nearly all day!     
           ♪ ♫ Always look on the bright side of life ♪ ♫



This is the kind of scene I always envisage, perhaps with a few more clouds in the sky, when thinking about winter walks



A birdwatching interlude:  As we made our way beside the fields we came to an area of sunflowers, their seedheads bowed down and providing what amounted to a huge feeding station for any birds who found it, and many did. At first we saw Blue Tits and Chaffinches, but slowly we became aware of more and more species among them, including Bramblings. In normal years I may see one or two of these northern finches, but so far this winter I must have seen in excess of a hundred - and all associated with sunflower fields like this one.



I think this area had been sown to provide cover and feed for gamebirds, though obviously all wildlife was benefitting from this sunflower seed bonanza. Bizarrely there were two old trampolines standing beside the field, too far from any road to have been dumped and clearly carried here for a purpose. Even more oddly, neatly positioned in the corner of the field, was a wickerwork sofa of the kind usually seen in conservatories or on patios. Then there were two men wearing hats and gloves drinking hot chocolate from a flask - ah, I can explain that one. 



Back to the walk. Apart from one or two dog-walkers there were few people about on this fine morning. 



We passed through a section of private woodland, but on a public path. Again the low sun was angling in and lighting the leaves from behind.



As we completed our circle back to Ardeley we met some of the animals from Church Farm. The farm sums itself up on its website thus:

 "We are a not-for-profit farming, food, care and education farm. Our aim is to enhance the countryside, provide people with special needs the opportunity to learn and grow, conserve wildlife and farm ecologically". 

Noble aims indeed.



I suppose you'll be wanting to see a little of the village. Its church was, surprisingly, not open; probably the result of the Covid pandemic which has left many churchwardens uncertain of exactly what to do for the best.



There is a traditional village green with thatched cottages grouped around the old well. It's so picture-perfect that it attracts many visitors from far and wide. But all is not as it seems: this entire scene was contrived by the lord of the manor who had the whole lot built just over a hundred years ago. Though it's no less pretty for that.



And there's a pub too, the Jolly Waggoner, which gets its name from there once being a blacksmith's forge nearby, so presumably by the time the horse was reshod the waggoner had refreshed himself in the pub and was suitably jolly.



Take care.


34 comments:

  1. It's encouraging to have this kind of clarity, John, with air you can breathe deeply. I suspect that the jolly waggoner of the past was reincarnated as the jolly walker of today!

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  2. It is a great time of year for photography John.
    You have certainly captured some lovely scenes.

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  3. Enjoyed that walk. Everything seems well in your part of the world, that is how it should be.

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  4. I looked hard, but still didn't see the sunflowers you mentioned. So please do a re-do. Nah, your description was enough!

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  5. Apart from the fact that I couldn't see the sunflowers either - the words here are every bit as beautiful as the photographs' I particularly liked 'battered denizen'

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  6. Your first picture fit so well with your description of a "circular" tour with those curving marks in the field there. That bare tree against the blue sky was terrific. You have done a great job of capturing this season in your photos. Thanks, John.

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  7. What a beautiful winter walk you had there. I love that you walked on a path trodden by pedestrians for almost two thousand years. Oh the stories that path could tell. We haven't had the sun here for several days. It's been foggy foggy foggy. So these photos really helped lift my spirits as high as the blue skies.

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  8. Such a delight to walk with you through the beautiful woods, fields and village John. Your photos are delightful always. Just wish we could meet up at the Jolly Waggoner for a drink and snack!

    Church Farm's edict is heartwarming - I would at least want to sneak in and hug those woolly sheep!

    Happy holiday season John - hope the good weather continues for your country walks. Good here too so Bob will be out this morning raking/blowing plenty of our oak leaves which fell this past week!
    Mary -

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  9. December looks glorious with that light through the trees. She definitely has her own look. Such beauty if one but takes the time to observe. The second photo is my favourite though all are wonderful.

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  10. I too love winter and the intricacies of bare trees filigreed against the skies. Thank you for sharing some of the glories of yours.

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  11. That was a wonderful walk. We still have a few oak trees hanging onto their leaves too despite the snowfall of last weekend which has now all melted.

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  12. What a beautiful walk. I love the looks of trees when the leaves are gone. Photo #2 is my favorite.

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  13. Trodding where Romans once trod…exciting thought

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  14. Amazing to follow a path once used by Roman soldiers. Beautiful photos. Love that big bare tree!

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  15. Another beautiful walk. Blue skies and sunshine are the perfect backdrop. Bet it was cold though.

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  16. All our trees are certainly bare,mbranches clear to see. You can learn to tell many species by the branch pattern.

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  17. such beautiful views here! I love the winter look of trees stripped bare. They make for intriguing photographs.

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  18. John, I've been thinking about that old Roman road that pedestrians have walked for more than two thousand years. It made me wonder if you may have had ancestors that walked that very road. Please feel free to email me (robin.andrea13@gmail.com) if you don't want to reply here. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. An interesting question, and one I can easily answer as I remember listening to a BBC radio programme that posed a related question. As you go back through the generations your number of ancestors increases - you have 2 parents, 4 grand-parents, 8 great grand-parents, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256.....In theory you only have to go back 20 or 30 generations before you're related to everyone in the world. Of course it gets complicated because people tend not to move about that much and inter-breeding must happen. However my family name has been in this area for at least 1,000 years and probably longer than that. So the likelihood of my ancestors having walked everywhere around here is extremely high.

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    2. Thank you for this, John. I'm trying to feel what it must be like to be someplace where your family name has been for at least 1000 years. My people came to the US 120 years ago. Very little history is known before that time. Even the family names were changed.

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  19. Hi John - loved the photos and tour of another wee walk for you around your neighbourhood - it looks just delightful. Stunning photos - and so true to clear winter sun.

    Also great you replied to Robin above - fascinating to read ... and that your ancestors trod those Roman paths back in the day. Thanks - loved the post - cheers Hilary

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  20. Interesting about your ancestors and the Roman road. Thanks for bringing me along on your walk. Welcome to winter.

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  21. This was a lovely ramble which I really enjoyed.

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  22. Your writing & imagery is beautiful...

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  23. I enjoyed the bit of history included in this post, John. And, it does seem like winter has not yet arrived from the photos in your post. Glad you managed to dodge that recent snowstorm.

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  24. Beautiful photos! The light through the trees is amazing! I love that you added a bit of your local history.

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  25. Wonderful photos, as always. I like that tree with the bare, twisty branches.

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  26. Thanks for sharing photos of your wooded areas in late autumn-early winter. Most of the leaves have dropped where I live. I'm impatiently waiting for snow in the mountains so I can go skiing.

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  27. Son muy bellas tus fotografías. El cielo está limpio de nubes y tiene un azul intenso, incluso no se manifiesta la niebla que tanto abunda en su país.

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  28. That very first photo of the naked tree is quite lovely. Our maples are the last to give up all their leaves too. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

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  29. Glad to have stumbled into your blog and its lovely pictures. They bring me back home from distant Los Angeles. (I grew up in the area in the 1940s, was at Caius in the 1950s--and my granddaughter is there now).

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  30. Very reminiscent of the fields around here though lucky I did find the tracks not so muddy

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  31. Wow you really have a good eye for making pictures!Ilove the landscape typical English!

    Also the old houses in the background!

    all good to you!

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