Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Wednesday 27 February 2013

Snowdrops at Baddesley Clinton





I gave David a lift to Baddesley Clinton last Sunday and, as the House and Gardens weren't yet open when we arrived, I decided to walk towards Hay Wood. It was freezing cold and starting to snow!



No sign of any lambs yet amongst sheep in a nearby field



Fungi (as yet unidentified) growing on a tree stump





The Church of St Michael



Snowdrops covered the churchyard











Finally, arrived at Hay Wood - looks an interesting wood to walk round although I didn't have time today as it was time to return and meet David from his meeting.






After looking round the second hand bookshop (somehow resisted temptation of making several purchases) we went into the newly refurbished restaurant for coffee and cake.
Lovely to see pussy willow and daffodils on the tables.



The Lemon Cake was delicious






I also paid a brief visit to Millennium Wood recently in the hope of spotting Bullfinches or Redpolls. None around just the usual species - Blackbird, Wood Pigeon and Magpie but this friendly horse in a nearby paddock came to say "hello" !


12 comments:

Dartford Warbler said...

What a lovely walk, but I expect it was very cold if you stopped moving! Snowdrops do lift the spirits on these grey, chilly days of early spring.

The chestnut pony looks well wrapped up against the weather.

Tricia Ryder said...

Lovely to see snowdrops in drifts; and I agree about seeing pussy willow and daffs on the table.

Love the tree!

and as for the lemon cake....oooooh looks so yummy!

Ragged Robin said...

Dartford Warbler - Yes, it was a lovely walk but as you say freezing. I only walked for about an hour and was numb all over!

Tricia - Many thanks. I thought the pussy willows were a lovely touch :) Yes, the cake was delicious. David had chocolate cake but wouldn't let me take a photo - he thinks I am sad!

The Quacks of Life said...

lovely set of snowdrops and cake!

Tricia Ryder said...

Aw... those who eat and take pictures of cake are not sad at all... more members of an elite cake club :D

Ragged Robin said...

Pete - Many thanks :) Cake gorgeous :)

Tricia - LOL!! :) Think he was embarrassed because he is supposed to be on a diet!

ShySongbird said...

Hi Caroline :-) A lovely read and photos again. I always feel at home here :-)

Do you have to show pictures of cake? ;-) I don't have a very sweet tooth but...yum! Of course it could have been worse...it could have been (YUM YUM) coffee and walnut!!

Anyway, David's meeting sounded like a very nice excuse for a walk, he certainly picked a good place for a meeting :-) The Snowdrops in the churchyard look so pretty and so do the Pussy Willow and Daffodils, two of my early year favourites. Not sure how you resisted buying a book....maybe there was no way of buying it unnoticed ;-) Love the gentle looking horse.

Ragged Robin said...

Shy Songbird - Hi Jan :) Thank you so much for your lovely comment. You couldn't have paid me a nicer compliment :) So pleased you feel at home :)

Sorry about the cake :) I like coffee and walnut too :)

I was very keen to volunteer to give David a lift :) He was interviewing a society who are going to be doing a medieval enactment at Baddesley later in the year which sounds rather interesting :)

Pussy Willow always takes me back to my childhood when we used to collect a few sprigs on country walks and bring it home. I don't pick flowers or such these days in the country so displays brought back lovely memories:)

You guessed correctly about buying unnoticed :) There were 2 second hand books on churches that looked interesting. Then when I went n the gift shop I was even more tempted by a book on the Romantic Language of Flowers and one on Reading the Landscape. I got as far as the till but had to put them back when I felt eyes boring into me :) :)

Em Parkinson said...

I agree - lovely to see pussy willow on the table like that. Those swathes of snowdrops are stunning and I really enjoyed your walk. I also have to agree with Jan in that I always feel comfortable and informed here too. Thanks so much!

Ragged Robin said...

Em Parkinson. Thank you so much for such a lovely comment Em. It really means a lot to know how much my Blog is enjoyed :)

Rohrerbot said...

Those snowdrops are so lovely! I love when these kinds of flowers are the first to pop up around the landscape.....a nice reminder that spring is just around the corner:) Very nice stroll. I think I would enjoy coffee with that lemon cake:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rohrerbot - Many thanks Chris. I don't think there is anything more uplifting or beautiful than Spring flowers :)