I really appreciate the landscape at the top of the Breamish Valley – just as you enter the Linhope Estate. The views are superb. I call it ‘our little piece of Austria’ because it reminds me of some of the rolling hills and upland meadows to be found there.
Since seeing my first three adders of the season on 25 February 2021, the relatively sunny weather has brought more adders into view at Branton Lakes Nature Reserve. They typically hibernate between about October – March, emerging in the late Winter/early Spring, depending on weather conditions.
Like many people in the area, I really enjoy this time of the year and the anticipation of seeing my first adder of the season.
The earliest I’ve spotted one is 20 February (2018). Last year, I saw my first adder on 26 February (2020) and today – one year on – I saw my first three adders of 2021.
About three weeks ago, I talked a little about beech leaves still clinging to their branches during winter and how their copper-coloured leaves loom out from the dark backdrop of shady woodland. They make great photos:
adj.
knotted
chaotic
muddled
twisted
ravelled
snarled
Singular of plural? Mmm…is there just one sky or are there many skies?
I suppose it depends on your perspective. Lying on your back looking up into a completely dark sky can surely make you feel that you’re lying under the enormous globe of just one sky. But…
I have three favourite words. The second of these (in the order that I was introduced to them) came from studying A-level Biology at VI Form College when I was a teenager. I’m sure it’ll be on everyone’s Favourite List. It’s abscission. Yes, that one again! I know…it’s so yesterday, isn’t it?
I’m joshing, of course.
It’s taken a long time for the snow to leave the floor of Breamish Valley. We’ve had icy conditions since 3 January this year and snow on the Cheviots pretty much from the beginning of the New Year too. But, with the slight rise in temperature over the last couple of days, the snow has now more or less melted from the valley floor. However, some snow is still clinging to the backdrop of the Cheviot Hills.
Have you noticed that in winter you can see much further? Things that were out of sight during the summer months now come into view. This is mainly because the leaves have fallen from the (deciduous) hedgerows and trees. Gaps appear: cracks and openings that let us see through to what’s beyond.
As is commonly understood, the sun is low in the sky for us here in the northern hemisphere during the winter months. We have shorter days and a ‘weak’ sun that never gets high above our heads. This creates long shadows and, depending on the atmospheric conditions, anything from a mellow golden light towards the evenings and blue hues throughout the day. Add snow to the mix and, as the sunlight reflects off the snow, this creates other interesting visual effects.
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