It's That Time of Year. . .

The time when snowdrops show that not everything is as dead as it looks. I came across this stand in their usual place. They haven't quite opened fully, but should do in the next two or three days.

It was a fantastic morning. There had been a frost, and there was mist in the valleys. Normally, the Tamar Valley is full of mist and it stays for most of the morning, while the Tavy Valley has some high level mist which disperses very quickly.

This morning it was the other way round, and with the low sun, the light was fantastic. Not only that, there were lots of birds around. Mostly they were flying away from me, but I did get some nice shots of bullfinch, marsh or willow tits, a redwing, a heron, a song thrush, mallard and four red breasted merganser (ducks).

On top of that, the landscape was beautifully lit and I got some pleasing shots of the trees in the marsh, oak leaves with the light shining through them and a horse rider going down the lane with the sun's rays pouring down through the hedgerow in front of her.

Until I saw the lady on the horse, I had the whole walk to myself. There were a few people around by the time I got back to the car and while it was still beautiful, they had missed the best part of the morning.

I'll try and get down there during the week and get a shot of the snowdrops in full flower.