Learning in the u3a movement

The sky looked so wonderful just before the sunrise, so I thought I would take the photo through a glass of water in my window and called it "Greeting the Dawn"

An original painting

I have been getting bored with walking on the roads to avoid the dreadfully muddy expanses near the stiles, so the frozen ground invited me to take the field paths again. Nearing home the sun was setting and I felt drawn into this scene by the unploughed parallel ridges with stubble breaking through the snow.

My wife inspired me! Coming in from the cold, Karen said: ‘Have you seen what it’s like? It’s magical out there! Drop what you’re doing (!!!) and get out there with your camera.’ Sure enough, rare weather conditions had transformed Bridgnorth into a winter wonderland. Never one to ignore an instruction, I set off for the Severn riverside and spent a wonderful photographic hour.

In the bleak midwinter, Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone. The start of the poem by Christina Rosetti certainly describes the weather this week as "the beast from the east two" chilled us to the bone. This is a leaf off our sweet gum tree trapped in ice and coated in hoarfrost.

A chilly morning walk in Haddon Wood, a community woodland on 28 Acres of land in Somerset donated to the Woodland Trust in 2013

Taken on a recent snowy day in the park near my house in Kingswinford. I walk my dog here everyday and was lucky to find that the second day of snow also came with a blue sky.

Taken at Wroxham Broad. It's the first time we have had this amount of snow since we moved here. It was a beautiful scene.

Swan at Shakerley Mere, Allostock, Cheshire. On a cold New Year's Eve, 2020, I took this photo of a young swan whilst standing on the ice covered mere. He just looked quite magnificent, and I wanted to capture the moment.

I love the depth of blue in a sky on a sunny frosty morning. The snow of the seed heads had started to melt and then re-frozen. I like the bokeh too.

Winter floods in Holywell. I was walking around the village near the church and spotted these two swans set against the magnificent sunset and it's reflection in the flood water in Flagholme Fen

Attenborough Nature reserve, Nottinghamshire on an extremely cold day. The photograph shows the different layers from tweezles to mist

As I drove towards Grantham I saw this flash of white surrounded by green and discovered how the splashing from a large puddle had frozen on the hedge.

We don't get snow very often in Devizes, so when it does arrive it transforms the whole landscape and this was a very pleasing view on my local walk.

Early morning frost on my conservatory window looked so much like wintery ferns that I just had to take a photo.

Beautiful Hair Ice. A fairly rare phenomenon when the temperature is just below freezing, taken in Dalbeattie woods during an early morning walk.

I loved the framing of the branches where the Robin was perched, and how all puffed up and fluffy he or she was against the biting cold in Chawton House park.

Ice Hedge - a short moment in time

Daisy the hedgehog had been making regular visits to eat her cat food supper. I was delighted to have a "lockdown" visitor and to see her one night to take this photo'. She wasn't a bit bothered by me. I hope she's now hibernating in the winter house we made for her. 

This lovely Winter Window, with the beautiful model, in my local footwear shop, brightened up my exercise walk on a very dull day.

Taken early in the morning near my home in Bryneglwys, north Wales just as the sun was coming up bathing everywhere in a golden glow.

Taken in Coombes Dale in The Peak District on Christmas Morning.