February 2024 tree following – a new subject

Not much left – bare stalks of my new tree in February

I have finally decided on the tree I will follow in 2024. It’s in Thompson’s Park, so not far away, and is apparently a rarity in this country. I had seen it before when the orange berries were at their best in mid winter, but had not realised the species.

I found it on the Cardiff Council Parks website, which gives the following information:

It’s a Photinia davidsoniae, a small, multi-stem, thorny tree with oblanceolate leaves, dark green, leathery and glossy, up to 15cm long and tapering at both ends.

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After the storms in Thompson’s Park

A waterlogged Thompson’s Park in Cardiff yesterday

The UK has been battered by a succession of Atlantic storms over the past few months, bringing strong winds and torrential rain. This followed a very wet and miserable summer and autumn so everywhere the ground is sodden.

Named storms this year, some worse than others, have been Agnes, Babet, Ciaran, Debi, Elin, Fergus, Gerrit and Henk, which is clearing away from the British Isles as I write this.

Sometimes it feels like it will never end.

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Thompson’s Park on Boxing Day

Dead leaves in Thompson’s Park on Boxing Day

It has been a while since I walked around Thompson’s Park, the nearest of Cardiff’s small parks to my home. But Boxing Day was a rare day of sunshine and showers in an otherwise very wet and murky festive period, so I thought I would get some fresh air.

As usual at this time of year there were still a few observations of interest. Here are my photos…

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Magnolia and primrose time in the park

Pink magnolia in Thompson’s Park

I recently visited my nearest green space in Cardiff, Thompson’s Park, to see how spring was coming along. The magnolia trees were in bloom, the grassy bank was full of daffodils and the parks people had planted primulas in the flower bed. Here are my snaps…

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Bright park flowers at summer’s end

Sunflower in Thompson’s Park

There was still plenty of colour on offer in my local Cardiff parks – Victoria Park and Thompson’s Park – as September ushered out a meteorologically disappointing summer. Here are some of my pictures…

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May in Thompson’s Park

Young beech leaves in Thompson’s Park, Cardiff

I visit my nearest green space, Thompson’s Park in Canton, Cardiff, at least once a month. It has a small lower garden with a duck pond and an upper field surrounded by trees, currently at their spring best. Here are my latest pictures:

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St David’s Day in Thompson’s Park

Daffodils in Thompson’s Park

Monday was St David’s Day – the national day of Wales – and it is not complete without daffodils so I went to Thompson’s Park to see what I could find. Here are my pictures from a half-hour afternoon walk in early spring sunshine…

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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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Meeting old friends in Thompson’s Park

Beech trees in Thompson’s Park, with Romilly Road beyond the park railings

Firstly, my apologies for being slightly inactive on the blog recently and not responding to comments in a timely manner.

I remain very busy working full-time from home and caring for my husband – still in agony and immobile as he waits for the urgent hip replacement operation cancelled in March thanks to the first Covid-19 lockdown.

And to top it all I have fallen out of love with WordPress and its new Block Editor, which I can’t get to work even if I use a different browser as recommended by one of the WordPress experts. I also couldn’t work out how to continue using Classic Editor until Mike Rogers (of Flighty’s Plot) kindly pointed out a little arrow in the admin panel that I hadn’t noticed. Thanks so much!

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Thompson’s Park in early spring

Magnolia bloom in Thompson’s Park, Cardiff

I started the Covid-19 coronavirus lockdown a fortnight ago with the intention of visiting a park every week for some exercise, but already I am slacking. So far I have visited only one – Thompson’s Park.

It is our nearest park but I hadn’t walked through it for a few years, since I started working down in Cardiff Bay. There was a time when I visited it monthly, and here are my images from those days.

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