This morning again dawned bright, white and beautiful so Rueben and I went for a long hike along the lane, all the way to the crossroads. It was incredibly cold (according to the news this will be the coldest month in Scotland since records began!) but we soon got warm going up and down hills. On our way we pass an evergreen forest which will be harvested when the trees are large enough. Fortunately this is still far into the future. The beauty of the large firs, covered in snow and ice, demonstrates how gorgeous these trees are au naturel, without lights, baubles and garlands! But the snow and ice would not last long if they were brought indoors! However, a decorated tree is still no match for the original ones, growing outside. The picture above was also my blip for today.
It's not just evergreens that look fantastic at this time of year, I also love these birches, with their dark trunks and their bare, frozen branches!
We reached the crossroads and turned back to be greeted by a much darker lane as the sun had disappeared and clouds were sweeping in, making for a beautiful cloudscape. Fortunately they did not produce any snow but they wreathed the lane temporarily in swirling fog and mist!
The landscape on view when we reached the top part of the lane was wrapped in fog with only occasional glimpses of trees and hills through the clouds and the image reminded me of Japanese woodcuts. I've never been to Japan but have been to exhibitions of the woodcuts many times. The images on them have slowly made their way to my subconscious mind and now fragments of mist swirling around hills and treetops, spell Japan to me. But the same woodcuts could have been made of the Scottish landscape or, I'm sure, of many other landscapes all over the world.
Towards the end of the walk I was warm enough to remove the hood of my duffel coat and the sun also re-appeared to give this wonderful light on the forest.
It's not just evergreens that look fantastic at this time of year, I also love these birches, with their dark trunks and their bare, frozen branches!
We reached the crossroads and turned back to be greeted by a much darker lane as the sun had disappeared and clouds were sweeping in, making for a beautiful cloudscape. Fortunately they did not produce any snow but they wreathed the lane temporarily in swirling fog and mist!
The landscape on view when we reached the top part of the lane was wrapped in fog with only occasional glimpses of trees and hills through the clouds and the image reminded me of Japanese woodcuts. I've never been to Japan but have been to exhibitions of the woodcuts many times. The images on them have slowly made their way to my subconscious mind and now fragments of mist swirling around hills and treetops, spell Japan to me. But the same woodcuts could have been made of the Scottish landscape or, I'm sure, of many other landscapes all over the world.
Towards the end of the walk I was warm enough to remove the hood of my duffel coat and the sun also re-appeared to give this wonderful light on the forest.
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