Blustery morning walk in Coombe Woods

Not much close up photography today because everything was on the move. Storm Imogen was doing her stuff - clouds dashed across the sky while plants and trees waved about wildly in the wind. 

A few cracks of blue sky showed

Loads of buds are forming on a little shrub that has already produced a couple of early clusters of tiny sapphire blue flowers

 Puffy white clouds parted to show more blue sky

The wind caught the mahonia leaves, lifting them to reveal their light green undersides

A bank of snowdrops, daffodils and crocuses in front of the little shelter

More snowdrops in a flower bed further along

 Low sunshine and long shadows

One bright pink camelia and plenty more buds on their way

I like the way the sunlight illuminates the tops of some of the trees 

Old azalea seed pods and this years new buds draped with fallen pine needles

Beech nuts still hanging on in spite of all the wind and rain

New shoots pushing up through a carpet of leaves

The witch hazel plant is still covered in shaggy yellow pompoms

Textures and patterns in nature and the contrast of evergreen and deciduous trees against blue sky

New leafy growth

I couldn't resist another look at the hydrangea flower skeletons. Some are white like bleached bones

 others are like ivory coloured vintage lace

Tiny scented white flowers

Criss-crossing branches 

The tiny blue flowers are almost invisible on these pine-like stems

Just one step to the left and the colours from the flowerbed in the background are completely different

Blue sky vanishes and grey takes over - I feel moisture in the air. The wind gusts again making thin birch stems dance

Thank you very much for joining me