Wolves Wild

Carr is woodland on damp or marshy ground (and thus prone to flooding) where alders and willows are the dominant trees.

Here the carr is in the Packhorse Bridge Nature Reserve, by the river Blythe at Hampton in Arden.

Another picture of early-morning frost, on the leaves of a bramble.

The leaf on the left has been in the sun for longest: its frost has almost all melted.

The remains of one of last year’s hollyhocks lit by gentle early-morning sunlight.

Earth star fungus, probably Geastrum coronatum, with what appears to be a lid or protective cover detaching itself from the sporocarp, the spherical structure containing the spore-creating gleba.

I’ve never seen anything like it before, nor any reference to anything similar in my collection of Field Guilds or online – possibly because I haven’t looked hard enough.

Seen again five days later. The “lid” was raised higher, but still not separated from the rest.

The path connecting Freshwater Pool (featured yesterday) to the Barley Field in the Smestow Valley Nature Reserve passes through a narrow gap between a copse and a hedge.

After rain, the gap becomes muddy, then churned up by the heavy traffic of dog walkers, joggers and other walkers. Freezing solidifies the patterns that have been created.

Another picture from the rare recent frosty morning: an artichoke left on the plant, which was decorated with tiny ice crystals.

Half in early morning sunlight, half in shade, a fallen sycamore leaf on the short grass of a football field on a frosty morning.

A thin layer of ice covered the shallow pool on a frosty morning.

Another view through the morning mist on Boxing Day. Castlecroft Bridge carries a farm track across the Staffs & Worcs Canal.

Magpie on the ground. The light catching its wing and chest giving the feathers an iridescent pale blue colour.

Mallards swimming in deep water in what is normally a riverside field. The birds can be seen in the distance in the pictures in the previous post.

The River Blythe at the Packhorse Bridge Local Nature Reserve, Hampton in Arden, normally a narrow, rather gentle stream. These pictures, taken from the historic packhorse bridge a few days ago, show the effect of the recent heavy rains.

The tree stump and the line of fence posts mark the top of the normal left bank of the river and the edge of the bordering field. That field was almost completely covered to some depth with water, which seemed to extend back towards a nearby lake. The river was flowing not just under the bridge, but altogether perhaps three times its normal width under the causeway leading to the bridge.