Monday, January 09, 2012

Winter woods: beech, spruce, chestnut.

















Occasionally, some sunlight fell upon the path, which was ... scattered with the mysterious dried-up fruits of various trees fashioned into little brown toys and emblems, which crackled pleasantly underfoot.


(Iris Murdoch, The Good Apprentice - 
Can't say I remember a huge amount about this novel, except it's based in part on the somewhat unlikely premise that someone on LSD would throw himself out of a window in the belief that he could fly.  But the little crackling toys and emblems on the forest floor have always stayed with me).

There's so little for the camera to play with at this grey-green-brown time of year, though the light can be good when it shows itself.  Despite mounds and layers of gently majestic cloud, and flocks of larks and lapwings (fewer of these than other years), I tend to keep my eyes down, looking at sepia shapes of leaves and husks, livid, waxy discs and domes of late fungi, thick bunches of emerald sorrel.  There have been no frosts to speak of, though; flakes of gold and bronze leaves still hover on the trees, and fuchsias and roses keep on flowering in the garden, along with the hellebores opening and the daffodils coming up.

Old things, still lovely, linger, new ones emerge beside them. The light lengthens.

11 comments:

Julia said...

Thank you for the pictures. My blog world feels right again.

marja-leena said...

In spite of 'this grey-green-brown time of year', you've captured some incredibly beautiful sights. Must not be too wet there, like it has been here, where everything is a moss green it seems. No signs of last summer's flowers or early signs of spring yet so your post gives me hope. Sunshine is in the forecast...

Catalyst said...

Your photos inspired me to go outside and point my camera down at the plants and the dead things on the ground. We'll see what comes out of it once the cropping is done. But a good tip. Thank you!

The Crow said...

I especially like the fourth photo, Lucy. I thought it was a tiny hedgehog-type animal at first glance, before putting on my glasses.

For some odd reason, I find these grey-green-brown images comforting, familiar.

earlybird said...

Beautiful, beautiful. The photos and your words.

Fire Bird said...

I love these looking-down shots. Barely a frost here either. A couple maybe. Mostly wet and windy.


WV - locate

J Cosmo Newbery said...

Love the colours and textures.

Anne said...

We have a few dejected looking snapdragons blooming. Oddly, since there has been very little frost here, most of the geraniums have died.

The pictures of dead stuff are really beautiful -- it has been turned into "something rich and strange."

Sheila said...

Oh, it's all just beautiful, just beautiful. I'm having to take a break from walking/running due to a foot problem, and was just thinking earlier how strange it was not to have gotten outside (really outside, not just in a car or building) today....Now I feel as if I have, in a way. Thank you!

Rouchswalwe said...

Oh what a grand walk in the crunchy stuff. Having been holed up at home for days with a dastardly cold, I thank you for the photos, sweet Lucy! Tomorrow I'm taking a walk no matter what!

zephyr said...

What lovely images. i really like that you have chosen this path.