Lens artist photo challenge – Cold

We have had a few cold frost mornings the last few weeks. The one advantage of a frosty morning is usually a bright start to the day.

chestnut

frozen leaves

frozen water

frozen leaves

Of course there is noting more magical than snow, we haven’t had any yet this winter.

We don’t get it very often here on the west coast of Ireland but we love it when we do.

Silent Sunday

handsome boy

Six on Saturday

The weather continues cold, with low night temperatures close to freezing. However, there are a few leaves left to enjoy.

1. Crab apple. Usually this tree is loaded with red / yellow crab apples but there were none this year due to late frost. Still the leaves are beautiful.

Crab apple leaf

2. Hazel catkins

Hazel

3. Highbush cranberry, Viburnum opulus, is not a true cranberry. The fruits are very acidic and are said to taste like cranberries, but I did not find them very palatable.

Highbush cranberry

4. Some birches are still clinging onto the last of their leaves.

birch

5. Though many trees are like this hazel, devoid of any leaves. Still there is something beautiful about bare branches of trees against the sky.

 

6. Wood for the fire – so important on these dark cold nights.

firewood

 

Thank you to The Propagator for hosting – Six on Saturday

 

 

Creepy

It was actually quite hard finding a creepy photo for lens-artist challenge this week, but I thought this one may fit the bill.

Silent Sunday

Frosted leaf

Silent Sunday – Monochrome

Hogweed seeds

Figwort seeds

Monochrome

Six on Saturday

We are at that period of late autumn when we get the best colours from the trees around us – so that is this weeks six on Saturday.

1. Oak is probably one of my favourite trees. We have a few young oak in our hedgerow and I have planted some acorns we collected a couple of weeks ago.

Oak

2. The beech hedge is turning from yellow to brown now, and is proving popular with the little birds particularly the blue and coal tits. It’s a great place to hide after you managed to get a whole peanut from the bird feeder!

Beech hedge

3. Larch grows in the wood that borders the garden.

Larch

4. I love the way these willow leaves go banana yellow – we had three nights frost earlier in the week and they really start to yellow up after that.

Willow

5. Lots and lots of rain today – here a dying hazel leaf next to some new shots – a promise of spring to come.

Hazel

6. And finally alder seeds – again covered in raindrops.

Alder

 

Thank you to The Propagator for hosting – Six on Saturday