Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt – January

Something yellow: When I had to visit the local pharmacy I popped into the Co-op shop opposite and bought a bunch of Free Trade long-stemmed yellow roses for £10 – they lasted for nearly three weeks, with the leaves remaining green and the blooms slowly shrivelling gracefully…

I have signed up again for the Winter Photography Scavenger Hunt hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days – details here. I missed the December link-up as life was so hectic with Christmas and my husband’s long-awaited hip replacement operation, but hope to find something for every category by the end of March, despite hardly leaving the house as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

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Snapshots of Victoria Park in January

One of the very few flowers in Victoria Park, Cardiff, during these pandemic days

Here are some of the snapshots I took on a recent visit to Victoria Park – it makes you realise what hard work the Parks department usually do to bring colour with seasonal bedding plants. The flower beds are almost bare this year…

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Just a rare sprinkle of snow

Snow on my bare sweetgum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua) this morning

In the South Wales Valleys to the north it often snows but here in Cardiff it is such a rarity that I always get over-excited – even if today it was just an overnight sprinkling of less than an inch.

We last had proper snow here when the Beast from the East hit us as February turned to March in 2018. That lasted just a few days but still caused chaos and time off work. Today’s snow was just decorative and soon gone…

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2021 tree following 1: New year, old tree

Part of the new tree I am following – recognise it?

It’s a new year and like many of you I have chosen a different tree to follow after a reasonably successful 2020 with the Persian ironwood in my own back garden.

Although we are still more or less locked down thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, I have resolved to take a walk most days for exercise and choosing a tree to follow in a park at least gets me walking once a month.

This time the park is Victoria Park and going to visit my tree on a frosty but sunny day earned me 4,700 steps there and back on my exercise counter.

Now without further ado, here is the tree…

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Tree following link box for January 2021

Silhouette of an oak tree on New Year’s Day, 2021

The tree-following link box has closed for another month. Any tree-related post is acceptable in these lock-down times and everyone has found something interesting to say.

Here in Cardiff the dark winter days start to lengthen perceptibly. The New Year has started with a very cold snap, with bitter north-easterly winds and night-time temperatures hovering around zero. But there has also been plenty of welcome sunshine.

I have said goodbye to the Persian ironwood tree I have been following, even though I will still see it from my study window every day. I am about to launch my new tree for 2021.

You will find everyone’s updates below – enjoy exploring…

Flighty’s Plot – Liz’s seven-son flower tree (Heptacodium miconioides) in Lexington, Kentucky, and Mike’s Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)

Erika Groth in Sweden – rowan tree

Alison at the Blackberry Garden – quinces pretend to be asleep

Pat – Squirrelbasket – Cardiff, Wales – a new tree for 2021

Crafty Green Poet – Juliet in Edinburgh, Scotland – silver birch
… and her update here

Andrew in Birmingham, UK – Kind Hearts and Corydalis – Rookery Park’s lime avenue

JayP – Amblings around Penwith (Cornwall) – Cornus kousa

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here.

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed in January. Why not join us next time? Just point us to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box published on the 7th of each month and lasting for a week. Although we all try to publish our tree followings every month, we are very forgiving if you post less often.

See you in February…

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New Year’s Day in Thompson’s Park

Thompson’s Park in Cardiff on New Year’s Day – people gathered near the duck pond

One of my New Year resolutions in this time of lockdown was to get out more, walk most days and get some sunshine. At least I started well on New Year’s Day with a walk around Thompson’s Park. It’s a favourite of mine so I suppose none of these images show anything new.

In these Covid days I do try to avoid people so find myself straying from the pathways to distance myself and holding my breath as I pass if I can’t. I don’t suppose I was surprised that people gathered dangerously together near the duck pond in the lower part of the park.

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