Wolves Wild

Drying seed cases on a garden shrub a few days ago.

Wintry day view of West Park lake with the church in the city centre in the distance.

The trees around the Dell, the former sandstone quarry at the back of Wightwick Mill Lock, seen from across the canal when the snow was lying.

A narrowboat moored near to Compton Lock during the recent snowy spell.

There’s only the slightest touch of colour in the boat’s paintwork: the superstructure is a very dark blue, not black.

A layer of snow had settled on the already frozen lake in West Park.

Hard to believe that this scene is only a mile or so from the centre of a major city.

Berries on the end of a twig of ivy holding a little pile of snow. The smaller bunch of berries on the side twig didn’t seem to be ripening.

I’m still working my way through pictures taken during last month’s snowy spell.

This was my effort at finding a fresh viewpoint in West Park. The bandstand is peeping up behind the bushes. Further away, the conservatory is blending in with the most distant trees.

One of the mature trees in West Park, its trunk plastered with the snow which was lying then.

The branches had been removed at above head level (pollarding – it’s coppicing when they are removed lower down). Pollarding and coppicing encourage new growth, such as had begun to sprout on this tree.

The view immediately after getting on the canal towpath at Wightwick while the recent snow was on the ground.

A male house sparrow perching near the top of the hedge by the canal at Castlecroft on a snowy day.

Catkins hanging from twigs on a hazel tree when the snow was lying on the ground last month.

A male shoveller standing on the ice of the partly frozen West Park lake, preening

A female mallard standing nearby, also preening.

A different male shoveller and female mallard, also close by. All four birds can just about be distinguished in the wider view of the same scene posted yesterday.