Author: David

A view along the railway walk with the snow early in December, all looking like it has been designed as a tunnel of trees.

Another view from early December, with the bare trees of Tettenhall ridge looking very strange in the snowy landscape.

These pictures were taken some days after the one above, when most of the snow had disappeared after a brief thaw, then everything got covered in a thick layer of hoar frost when it refroze.

An isolated hawthorn reflected in the freezing Staffs and Worcs canal.

More from the late November/early December wintry spell. Most of the apples from this tree had fallen and were hidden under the blanket of snow.

After the first snowfall at the end of November, a breeze was moving the branches of this small larch in West Park just enough for a gentle blur on this hand-held shot.

Early (above) and later (below) in the late November/early December cold spell.

This heron is probably the same one pictured in the post on New Year’s Eve.

It was (again) staying on the towpath bank of the canal very near to Compton bridge.

A leading light in the Smestow Valley Bird Group suggested that someone may be feeding it in this hard weather.

This is the time of year when old man’s beard should be looking like whispy white hairs which give rise to its name.

But not, as here at the end of November, when snow is resting on all exposed parts of the plant.

The bridge where Smestow Valley railway walk crosses the canal, after the first light fall of snow.

This group of magpies were socialising together despite the hard weather just before Christmas.

The vivid colour of the leaves of this tree mark it out as non-native.

The tree was still brightening up its corner of West Park despite the frost and snow at the end of November.