Pink and wet

Another wet walk, this time down Vicarage Lane where I tried to photograph raindrops on skeletal hydrangea flowers but was defeated by the wind and low light. There's lots of interest in the gardens though: this Barbie pink ornamental quince, trained along a wall, reminded me of the similar but deep red flowered one we had at the side of our Durham house. It produced a surprising number of small fruits, which although very different in appearance from the large and abundant quinces which our orchard tree now provides every three years or so, they tasted similar when made into jelly. 

At the bottom of the lane, the Nailbourne looked much the same as it did the last time I checked: flowing full and fast, but still not flooding at this end of the valley. The ground, though, is a lot more saturated than a while ago. The kissing gate into the field sat in a huge pool of muddy water, and at the other side of the road, the valley path, which runs beside the Nailbourne, was covered by a series of large puddles. The extra shows the lane, as it starts its journey up the side of the valley, its hedgerows creating a across the view from our dining table or deck. It's a bleak, February view, but I like the colours and the curves. The flail has been cutting hedges in all the lanes recently, leaving them looking aggressively spiky; soon enough, these edges will be softened and hidden by new leaves, and in the many narrow lanes around the valley, it's important to maintain as much visibility and passing space as possible. The green in the nearest fields is winter wheat, while the meadows on the hillside are used as pasture for horses. From here to the top of the hill, the land is called Lickpot Hill. I wish I knew why.