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

It’s that time again for the monthly tree-following link box, which will stay open for your tree-related links until 7pm GMT on January 14.

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 hope to launch my new tree for 2021 later in the week.

Hopefully our regular tree followers will also have something to report this month as 2021, still blighted by the coronavirus pandemic, begins. You may not be able to visit the tree you usually follow – but any tree-related post will be acceptable from contributors old and new.

Point to any post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

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

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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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