Wolves Wild

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.

Two versions of the view across the canal near Compton to Dell Field on a misty and frosty morning.

I couldn’t decide which version I preferred.

A partly-frozen West Park lake with snowy island, looking down from the bridge.

A magpie on the lookout, perched at the top of a tree. Below, the bare branches reveal its large and untidy nest.

Children were just beginning to come out with their sledges to slide down the fresh snow in Barley Field.