“In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow….”
My last review was “mid October”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/attraction/205734-review-brumby-wood when leaves were changing colour. Since then winter has come and trees are bare. the only colour is the green of ivy climbing up the trees. The undergrowth has died down allowing light to the woodland floor and allowing some really early growth of ground flora.
Steady rain in November and December turned paths to mud and fallen leaves to the consistency of soggy cornflakes. The lowest part of the woodland flooded.
January brought sub zero temperatures and the soil really did turn to iron. I could resume walks through the woods without returning home clarted* up with mud. It was very much a monochrome landscape with varying shades of brown, more so on dull days.
February brought the ‘Beast from the East 2’ with heavy falls of snow. Now the woods appeared in stark contrast of black and white. Tiny footprints in the soil reveal a surprising about of wild life despite the cold. (I was reminded very much of the description of the wold Wood in winter from Wind in teh Willows – except there were no eyes peeri ng out of burrows… )
* GLOSSARY:
Clart is a Northumberland dialect word for mud and can be used to describe a range of different conditions from dirt to less desirable conditions. ‘In the clarts’ is a great way of politely describing less than favourable conditions… It can also be used as and adjective or verb.
