Crisp

What a morning!
Malcolm and I set out for longer walk this morning with the sun shining and a good layer of frost on the ground.  Earth didn't quite stand 'hard as iron' but it was, nevertheless, hard enough for us to walk along paths which would normally be too sloppy and muddy during the winter months.  Among the best pictures this morning were of dead Oak leaves, still clinging to the branches and edged in sparkling ice crystals.

Last night was clear and crisp and the moon shone brightly through the bare branches of the Hawthorn at the front of our house.  In this picture the branches are edged with orange light from the nearby street lamp.

The sun was streaming in first thing and the sight of a colourful 'Sun Dog' in the sky betrayed the presence of ice crystals high in the atmosphere too.

One more little 'jewel' from our walk around the countryside.  This time, a Robin (Erithacus rubecula), seen amid the branches of a Willow along the old Nutbrook Canal.  Singing it's thin and rather plaintive song, it cut a sombre and melancholy image as I tried to get close enough to get a good picture.