LITTLE ARTY JOURNEYS: Dull morning - but an enjoyable walk

I was prepared for rain, with wellies, umbrella etc. but the rain had stopped by the time I arrived at Coombe Wood. There was a tractor in the area near the gardener's sheds and from the aroma I would say it was probably delivering manure.

Plants are filling out and more flowers opening

Even more buds have appeared on this plant since my last visit a few days ago

Along the path up to the steps - a couple of little splashes of purple

Tiny blue star-like flowers

that look a lot like blue snowdrops

Red stems and raindrops

Mahonia berries

New growth in the prairie beds shows up very well against the mulched ground

A robin perched on the back of a bench and sang and another robin replied nearby

Strings of cream waxy bell-like flowers

Delicately scented thick petaled pink flowers

Pattern of red stems

Bud (top left) and old seed head (bottom right)

Wrinkled berries

Papery curls of silver birch bark

Although I was aware of the constant hum and clatter in the background - from the ongoing roadworks opposite the entrance,it was the sound of birdsong that dominated - including robins, crows and parakeets and a noisy seagull swooping overhead.

I was also quite aware of the different surfaces I was walking on - springy pine needles . . .

. . . some uncomfortable pine cones and a smooth pebbled path with mossy patches.

I haven't examined the leftovers of the bright yellow witch hazel since it lost most of its petals - today I had a close look. Four shiny thick fleshy calyxes (I presume that's what they are) curl back - still looking like flowers although they have lost their long thin petals. They're very small - this little cluster could sit on my thumb nail

A late flowering one

Some areas of the path are very muddy and there were various track marks in the mud - a few boot prints, some animal footprints and some wheel marks - possibly from a wheelbarrow. In several places where the ground has been particularly muddy or uneven the gardener has been putting down more wood-chips. At the moment the freshly wood-chipped surfaces release a lovely woody smell when you walk on them

In places the ground is covered in decaying leaves and crunchy beech nuts which pop as you tread on them

Azalea buds are opening

I find it surprising how different this roof looks in different weather conditions. Sometimes the tiles look blue - today they looked dull grey. The mossy humps remind me of clumps of trees on a hillside

From the gate to the gardener's area where the sheds are I could see heaps of bark, compost and manure ready to be spread

A skeletonised hydrangea flower reminded me of a butterfly

New shoots - dark burgundy leaves that remind me of antlers

I have sometimes found this little patch of step-like tree roots difficult to negotiate because my knee is inclined to give way on steps but it's been turned into a slope with wood chips which made it much easier

Crazy euphorbia flowers- I find the structure of these fascinating - although I wouldn't want them in our garden (we do have a smaller version in our garden - but not by choice - I don't know where it came from)