2023 tree following 3: Green is busting out all over

The sycamore in the distance, framed by alder catkins

Well, I’m really cutting this fine – just in time to publish my tree-following blog post for the month.

I had hoped to visit the sycamore in Llandaff Fields when it snowed last week, but the snow only lasted an hour or two before it turned to rain.

So I ended up visiting today, as the cold and snowy weather from the north and warmer, wetter weather from the south competed and left South Wales with a window of a few hours of sunshine.

Here are my photos from a visit today (March 14)…

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Tree following link box for March 2023

Birch in March

Welcome to the March 2023 tree-following gathering. I look forward to seeing everyone’s news and pictures once again. Spring is on its way, so if you haven’t chosen a tree to follow for the year yet, now seems like a good time.

Here in South Wales as March begins it is mostly cold and dry with easterly winds – although snow has been forecast for some areas later in the week.

I hope to visit the sycamore in Llandaff Fields this week and it would be wonderful to picture it in snow – but we rarely have a covering of the white stuff so near the warm coast of the Bristol Channel.

I’m sure you regular tree followers will have something to report. Point to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

The link box is now open for contributions and will stay open until 7pm GMT on March 14.

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here, although, as I have been saying for ages, I must update that page when I have the chance. Maybe this year!

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Snapshots of the day: Footway find

Little man on the pavement, about two inches tall…

I am always looking down at the pavement – partly so that I don’t trip over anything. But I also like to spot unusual things. I wondered what this little plastic person was and when I passed it a second time I flipped it over…

…it looked like a Christmas elf decoration of some sort

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2023 tree following 2: Long shadows

Shadow of the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff

After a wet and then frosty January, February has started with some drizzle and mist and quite a few fine late-winter days.

I visited the sycamore I am following in Llandaff Fields on another lovely day – from my photos you would think the sun always shines in Cardiff!

A reminder that in America this would be called a sycamore maple but in the UK it’s simply a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus).

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Snapshots of the day: Yawning jay

The bright blue and white flashes on the wing of this jay (Garrulus glandarius) attracted my attention when I was sitting at my desk by the window the other day. It was yawning as it sat on a branch, nodding off to sleep and then opening its eyes again

We used to see jays a lot in our garden, which is next to a park, but for a few years they had gone missing. Happily I have seen them again recently and I was very pleased when one showed itself just in time for the recent RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (2022 results here).

A closer look…

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Snapshots of the day: Surprise snowdrops

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) in the garden today

I forgot that we had snowdrops in the garden but they were revealed yesterday after we cleared away fallen twigs and debris following winter wind and rain.

We now have four clumps, all apparently spread by seeds from the original group.

A bit out of focus, but there were soft raindrops on the flowers after earlier drizzle

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Llandaff Fields in January

This knitted snowman was possibly part of a winter trail for the youngsters in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff

A couple of weeks ago I visited Llandaff Fields for a walk for the first time in several years – since the Covid-19 lockdown, I guess. Here are my photos…

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2023 tree following 1: A new tree

My new tree to follow – a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff, with a dog walker on the right for scale

Happy New Year! It’s time for me to choose a new tree to follow in 2023 – although I know some tree followers plump for a new subject in Spring when nature starts waking up again.

i have decided on a tree even closer to my Cardiff home than last year’s. That tulip tree in Victoria Park took me 20 to 30 minutes to reach on foot, while this one takes about 10 minutes – and only five minutes to reach a point where I can see it from the road.

As revealed in the photo above, I have selected a sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) in Llandaff Fields. In America this would be called a sycamore maple but in the UK it’s simply a sycamore.

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Tree following link box for January 2023

Pine trees and others in Llandaff Fields, Cardiff

Welcome to the first tree-following gathering of 2023. I look forward to seeing everyone’s news and pictures once again. Newcomers are always welcome and I hope some of the usual followers might be thinking about their next tree already.

Here in South Wales, January has started with mostly damp weather, although there have been a few sunnier breaks as the days lengthen.

I have now rounded up my year of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park and will introduce my new tree next week.

I’m sure you regular tree followers will have something to report. Point to any tree-related post you would like to share, using the link box below. And please don’t forget to leave a comment.

The link box is now open for contributions and will stay open until 7pm GMT on January 14.

If you are new to tree following, read all about the idea here, although, as I have been saying for ages, I must update that page when I have the chance!

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Remembering the year of the tulip tree

The bare tulip tree in February 2022

I will soon be starting to follow a new tree so it’s time to look back on 2022, the year of the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) in Cardiff’s Victoria Park.

For the record, all my tulip tree posts can be found here.

These are some of my photos taken from winter through spring, summer and autumn to winter again…

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