Saturday 9 February 2013

A Winter Walk

 During our recent heavy snow I was elated gutted to have to have a 'Snow Day' as the school I was due to work in that day was shut ....devestated I was!!!
Instead, I filled my time by going for a walk in a local park with my wonderful neighbour and his dog and trying out my new camera that Himself surprised me with at Christmas - a Panasonic Lumix FZ150 for those who're interested. A camera for those who aren't! :-P
The park is set in a valley, surrounded by several large housing estates, but the place seemed almost deserted when we arrived and human activity was only given away by the footprints in the snow and, further on, the faint sounds of screams and laughter. We were on the valley floor and the activity was on the slopes!



The snow was about 7" deep and crunched wonderfully underfoot as we walked. The trees hung low, weighed down by the snow and the air had that magical quality and silence that only snow can give.



Sally dog proved tricky to photo as she is so fast and loves playing in the snow. This is a rare still moment!

The stream oozed silently between the banks, not quite water but not yet ice.


A splash of colour in a black and white world.


We reached the lake and revelled in how different it looked to normal.


The gulls appeared singularly unimpressed with the change to their land and lakescape!


Tony (bless him) had brought a bag of bird seed to entice the birds in for me to photograph :-)


The swans quickly muscled in on the act.


The swan was happy with its unexpected meal.


Sally loves playing with other dogs - and they don't seem to realise that they haven't got a hope of catching her! :-D


We walked round the lake and along to where the sledgers were having great fun. That slope is quite a bit steeper than it looks! Sadly, Tony wouldn't let me nick a child's sledge ....


I could have had hers - she was homeward bound anyway!


And back to the car park past this magnificent tree.


There is a saying that "happiness never decreases by being shared" and certainly Tony and I shared a lovely hour or so that day - one which will stay with me for a long time. Simple pleasures eh?!


20 comments:

Kathryn/plantwhateverbringsyoujoy.com said...

Absolutely brillant! Thank you so much for documenting your snowy wonderworld! Had I not lived in Holland for three years I would probably be concerned about the swans, but know they are amazingly resilient in the winter cold. A truly beautiful share, Liz. xoxo

Gordon Mason said...

If the forecast comes true you'll have some more tomorrow!!

BilboWaggins said...

Thanks for sharing your walk, I think Daisy would have enjoyed that too (although I'm not so sure about the swan :} )

Panasonic make some great cameras, my 'pocket' camera is a Lumix TZ25, but the brilliant pictures are down to you. Here's to another snow day for you tomorrow :}

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Kathryn.I love the snow and we've got so many great places close by to go and enjoy it in!
You're right about the swans. We spoke to one woman who'd been watching one that had got frozen into the ice at the other side of the lake. She'd phoned the RSPB who'd told her to monitor the swan (but NOT to go on the ice herself). It had freed itself after about 2 hours of struggling - poor thing.

Nutty Gnome said...

Ey up Woody - it's not trying very hard at the moment, but I'm ever hopeful!!!

Nutty Gnome said...

Ey up Bilbo - it may not be as high as some of your mountains, but for a public park it's not bad! :-)
Sally dog did a lot of running about, but she stayed well clear of the swans like any sensible dog should!

Awh, thanks for your lovely comment about my photos - much appreciated! I'm really trying to get the hang of my new camera and to improve the quality of my photos too.....a side effect of blogging that I'd never anticipated!
I have high hopes of snow today because of the forecast, but it's a bit rubbish at the moment! :-(

Sue Garrett said...

I have a couple of Lumix cameras and really like them. Each has its own strong point. One is great for close-ups the other for zooming and wide angle shots.

Your photos are lovely.

Nutty Gnome said...

Thanks Sue :-)
Yeah, my little 'point & shoot' is a Lumix too and I still love that one too - and it fits in my pocket!

Sue Garrett said...

The little DMC ZS3 is the one that is really good at macro close-ups The newer small Lumix cameras don't seem to have that setting which is a shame.

Pondside said...

What a lovely walk you had. I particularly liked the photo of your neighbour feeding the fowl - really touched me for some reason.

Rob (ourfrenchgarden) said...

Hi Liz

Bet the camera's good fun. I hope you work through all the functions - I never have, the manual which came with my camera was so long and complicated, everytime I started to read it I lost the will to live.

7 ins is a good snowfall, I know exactly what you mean about how it brings on a certain silence like insulation changing the acoustics.

Brrrrrrrr

Carah Boden said...

Beautiful photos Nutty - extremely evocative and soulful. Don't you just love the stillness that snow brings? (Unless you're hurtling down a hill on a sledge of course!)
I think we are due a little more today - it is certainly bleak enough out there. Get back out with your camera - great present from Himself!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Sue. My little Lumix is a Canon Ixus 951S and has a good macro - but not as good as the new camera!

Nutty Gnome said...

Aah, dear Pondside - you would love my neighbour! Tony is 83, has just finished chemotherapy but has a wonderful zest for life and a wonderful warmth and generosity of spirit. I am spoilt by having him as our neighbour! :-)

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Rob, haha...I know exactly what you mean about the manuals - I've not got to the end yet! My niece co-incidentally has the same camera and I'm thinking of asking her to show me all the twiddly bits that I've not got to grips with yet!

That was a cracking snowfall and it stayed for about a fortnight. Since then we've had several big falls that have stayed for a couple of days or so before the rain has hit instead!It has actually been warm and sunny today for the first time in ages, but I wouldn't mind a bit more snow magic before spring!

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi HOTH, I just love snow! :-D
It never occured to me to take our sledge, but I'm not sure Tony would have been up to whizzing down the hill on it.....but you never know and I never asked him!!!

We got the snow on Wednesday - about 3", but a lot of it had gone by Thursday morning and it's all gone again now. I'm holding out for another big fall or two before spring though! :-)

Shady Gardener said...

Hi Liz! Your did a wonderful job of documenting your walk with photos by your new camera! Have you received any more snow since?

Nutty Gnome said...

Hi Shady - thank you!
We've had snow on and off since then. I've had a couple more snow days :-D but it didn't get as deep as the snow in this post - which stayed around for almost 3 weeks. The other snow has only stayed for a couple of days at most :-(
We had snow flurries yesterday, but it didn't setle....but I cling onto the hope of another big snow dump before spring arrives!

Catherine said...

I grew up just over the border in South Yorkshire. They know how to do snow up North. How disappointed you must have been by the snow day though, especially as the world becomes so magical and you had lots of time to explore!

Nutty Gnome said...

Me too Marianne - I'm a Rotherham girl born and bred! You can take the girl out of Yorkshire, but you can't take the Yorkshire out of the girl!

Yeah, we've had some good snow again this year - and I know you can tell the depths of my disappointment at the snow day! :-P