Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) on December 7, 2014
In under a fortnight it will be the shortest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere. Never before have I followed the changing seasons so closely – and it’s all thanks to Lucy Corrander and her Loose & Leafy tree following project.
This post features pictures from two visits to the hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff, on the morning of our first frost on November 24 and on December 7.
Golden hornbeam in the distance in the frost on November 24, between sycamore and lime
The sun is now low in the southern sky and never rises very far.
The sycamore casts a long shadow on December 7, an hour after dawn
A very long shadow – and you may note I am standing in the tree’s shadow so you can’t see mine!
What a difference a bit of cold weather makes to autumn colours.
Golden leaves on November 24
Almost bare on December 7
I had been waiting and hoping for some hint of the wonderful orange-gold I have seen in pictures of hornbeams in autumn, but the frosty days came too late to catch more than a few of the remaining leaves.
Still a hint of green in a few leaves on November 24…
…and a lot more gold
The branches start to reveal themselves – November 24
Fading to bare on December 7
For months I had trouble spotting the fruits among the leaves, but now I see there were plenty all along.
Empty hornbeam fruit, November 24
Lucy Corrander commented in her latest tree following post how wonderful it is that as the old year dies, new life is waiting there already, in those leaf buds preparing to burst next spring. A great symbol of continuity and rebirth, as Lucy puts it “more powerful than eggs at Easter”.
Old fruits and new buds, December 7
A nutlet hanging on in there on December 7
You might expect that when the golden leaves fall the tree will go grey…
Golden-topped hornbeam on November 24
But it’s not like that at all, as the new leaf buds are a lovely reddish brown…
Red-topped hornbeam on December 7
As the tree grows bare again it takes me back to our first meeting, in March. I had forgotten how red the twigs seemed then – and how I had mistaken it for a beech! Now I know there is no mistaking those curved and pointed leaf buds.
For the record, this is beech…
Beech hedge (Fagus sylvatica), December 2, 2014
Now I remember again how I love the hornbeam’s amazing shape, different from all sides…
Reaching for the sky, half in shade
Broad side in the sun
I will always recognise hornbeam leaves now
Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) still trying to grow beneath the tree on November 24
I wish people wouldn’t drop litter – we should teach our children better…
Carrion crow foraging near the tree on December 7
Do you remember in spring I hoped I might spend some time sitting on this bench?
Park bench in shadow…
I never did sit still for long! And now nature has taken a hold among the timber…
Moss and lichen on park bench, December 7
I think this may be the end of the tree-following year, even though we didn’t start until spring, but I’m not sure how I can break the habit! I will love this characterful hornbeam forever – however long that is. How will I find another tree to provide me with such discoveries, to follow in 2015? I’m getting all tearful now…
May we have many more blue sky days…
I am hoping for snow at some stage (but not TOO much!), so I can take pictures of the hornbeam in a different landscape. And at the turning of the year I will no doubt do a retrospective on the changing tree seasons of 2014.
This year I have followed the sun in the sky as well as the tree on the ground
Laura Bloomsbury is following a very different hornbeam in Gordon Square, London, and in her latest post she features a beautiful, poignant hornbeam poem!
Thanks again SO much to Lucy for giving me such a wonderful year, and to all the other tree followers she has rounded up. Here’s the link.
Here’s the link for all my tree blog posts.
And here are all my Flickr pictures of the hornbeam through 2014, bigger images than I use in this blog.
The Squirrelbasket 
What a beautiful tree you chose to follow. I !love the reddish haze of the new buds.
I think it chose me!
Thank you for your kind comment 🙂
sad to see the finale of your hornbeam tree following but you’ve a beautiful documentation of this magnificent tree
Oh dear, don’t say “finale” – it sounds so FINAL!
I hope to find good reasons for revisiting – especially if we can manage a little snow to decorate the tree.
Loved your latest hornbeam post – excellent poem.
All the best 🙂
au revoir then? I shall be featuring a new tree in 2015 though it feels disloyal! Meanwhile I’ve really enjoyed our Carpinus betulus exchanges – p.s. the poem especially poignant since he died this June and the Hornbeams he saw still able “To stun the mind and warm the heart
That nature might produce such art.”
Au revoir indeed. I do hope Lucy hangs on in there and hosts us all again next year.
Yes, it does feel disloyal to find another tree – and I have considered and dismissed several candidates over the last six months. I can’t yet imagine another that holds its interest in every season.
I did notice that Felix Dennis died this year – it’s sad that only now have I discovered him through you. I have been having a look at the website dedicated to his work, so will explore that further.
All the best – have a good winter 🙂
I know what you mean, squirrelbasket, I feel the same way about my cottonwood. I bet I will continue to follow it, though maybe no more blog posts.
Maybe we can make an excuse to blog on tree anniversaries or special occasions, or in my case if it ever snows on the tree…
All the best to you and the cottonwood 🙂
Like the shape of the tree crown. It looks a bit like a powder brush 🙂
Thank you for your kind comment. Yes, I know exactly what you mean! Back in April I likened the shape to an octopus or a Cheestring, but I should have mentioned a powder brush…
All the best 🙂
Thank you for your kind comment. Yes, I know exactly what you mean! Back in April I likened the shape to an octopus or a Cheestring, but I should have mentioned a powder brush…
All the best 🙂
It is surprising how much you see if you look at the same place over different seasons. I have been following one garden all year and have been amazed how much I have seen and how much I have learnt.
Very true – it so keeps you in touch with nature and what’s going on. But if we only had time, I’m sure we would notice differences between years, too. There was one year I found particularly good for mosses, and another for spiders, but since then both have been disappointing.
I am already considering where to look next year – maybe another city park, if I can guarantee to get there often enough.
All the best 🙂
I do admire your patient recording of plant life large and small. The long shadow of the tree and the tiny patterns of moss and lichen. I find the hopeful buds that appear in winter very exciting–“more powerful than eggs at Easter,” indeed.
Thank you for that – but I am really not very patient! I just dart out and have a quick look every so often!
The patient one is Lucy Corrander at Loose and Leafy – I have great trouble doing what she calls “stuck foot posts”, standing in one place and looking at what you can find without moving…
I like your latest “deer” post and will pop over there shortly to leave a comment.
All the best 🙂
I think we should all choose something that is local in nature to become aware of Pat. Look forward to your anniversary posts on your hornbeam …
Thank you 🙂
Thank you 🙂
You don’t have to change trees yet. Some Tree Followers are finding a new tree for 2015 – others are going right through to March with the ones they’ve been following in 2014. You can choose – although because I’m reading last months posts only two days before the January ones, I might be too late to say so. Apologies. (I posted about the nature of a year here – http://tinyurl.com/l567gzt
Whatever you decide, looking forward to your up and coming tree following posts. Best wishes and a belated Happy New Year.
Lucy
P.S. Over the time you’ve been following your hornbeam I’ve been struck not only with the beauty of the tree itself but by the park. How fortunate you are to have such a spacious and well kept park with mature trees (comparatively) near you.
Thanks for all that, Lucy.
Yes, I’ve worked it out in the end.
I doubt if my hornbeam will change much between now and February (the anniversary of when I first saw it).
So I plan to spend January trying to decide on a new tree, which is a difficult one, as I want it to be splendid all year round, as the hornbeam was.
I think I have noted most of the trees in those wonderful fields, so I will maybe find another convenient park, as Cardiff is blessed with many – and long may it continue.
All the best 🙂