Mini daffodils

Mini daffs. are out - tough little cookies!

These are only about 8" tall and live on pretty poor soil - under a cherry tree and surrounded by ground-cover plants (and sometimes/often weeds too ), yet here they are.

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Hellebors arrive

The white Hellebor (Helleborus Niger) and the pink Hellebors (Helleborus Oriantalis) have shaken off the dead leaves and fallen branches and are displaying their nodding heads again.
I wish they'd look up! - but they are lovely on close inspection anyway.

Ah, look at that face :).

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February calms down and swans hiss

The winds and heavy rains have passed for now.
The canal walk shows some new interesting things:
Lovely red mushrooms on the path:

Daffodils are preparing for spring already - here are some in set out in a pot 'though many are at the same game in my garden:

The swans acted like beggars last weekend but it turns out there was loads of bread and grain thrown about for them so they were really just "mooching". They come to the margin when I arrive at the canal with Huddie for his walk and seem to want to socialize bu tonly up to a point:
HISS  HISS -

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February brings the rain, and the snow and the wind...

….February brings the rain and the snow comes back again….('though it's been away for quite a while)

Huddie dog has no problem with the snow.

The wind, some days later, is another matter:

The moaning door is right beside Huddie, the red dog's mat - but he's well away from it!

Rain and wind and then the lemon-yellow sun

Rain, wind and then, shazaam - lemon-yellow winter sun.

Tree branches pruned by the wind, the river and lake engorged with rainfall. The air is very clean and ground covered is deep mosses in the woods.

Huddie, contemplating the infinite

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Tough little cold weather flowers

February 9th 2014
Cyclamen still on display since last autumn:

Primroses don't mind the cold in the porch since mid-december:

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Some early year grub

So last year, Janus pie, this year, Janus curry.

Turkey,and ham (from the freezer), veg, spices and cream - very nice.

Another warming dinner:

Beer-can chicken done in the fan oven:

Tough little flowers

A couple more December 2013 things

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