Tags
Aram Khachaturian, buds, flowers, frost, hoarfrost, ice, Masquerade Suite, moss, music, snow, winter
After the warmest December on record and a mild New Year we have, at last, had a little cold winter weather. Some of the flowers that were blooming in the mild weather have been frosted and turned brown. Others don’t seem to have been bothered by the frost and ice and have continued to flower.
We have snowdrops in the garden that don’t look anywhere near being ready to flower but some in tubs have buds that may open in a couple of days. Strangely, a golden crocus which usually flowers in March has appeared in the grass near the end of the drive. The garden is unusually colourful for this time of year.
Those four photos were taken the morning after a severe gale when lots of rain, then sleet and wet snow fell. The snow settled for a while but most of it disappeared the next day when the sun came out. The wind had blown the snow almost horizontally and when I went out the following morning I saw walls and tree trunks with snow and ice stuck to them but hardly any snow on the ground.
We continued to get hard frosts at night and then a light sprinkling of beautiful powdery snow on Saturday night.
I am pleased we have had a few frosts because the birds will only eat the crabapples once they have been frosted.
Richard went to a PCC (Parochial Church Council) meeting on Wednesday evening and came home with two pieces of good news. The first is that we are a stage nearer to getting the screen put in between the Tower Room and the main body of the church at Rumburgh and the second is that when our Rector retires in 2017 we will (eventually) be getting a replacement for him. For some time now, we have thought that we would have to do without a priest when Richard (the Rector) goes. We have a large but sparsely populated benefice and even though we would have tried to keep things going on our own and with the help of retired clergy and the priest from our neighbouring benefice, it would have been very difficult and might have meant that some, at least, of the churches would have had to close. We will have to put up with at least a year’s interregnum before the replacement priest arrives but if we know that we will get a Rector eventually we will cope better.
The piece of music today is a great favourite of mine and very romantic in style. It is quite long (just over 16 minutes) but is in five short movements so you don’t have to listen to it all in one go! This music makes me happy – I really don’t think anyone could help being cheered by it! It goes from a fast ‘Waltz’ to a very romantic interlude – ‘Nocturne’; then to another fast movement – ‘Mazurka’ followed by a slower ‘Romance’. The piece ends with a ‘Galop’. It was originally written in 1941 by Aram Khachaturian as incidental music for a new production of a play called ‘Masquerade’ by the Russian poet and playwright Michail Lermontov. The satirical-romantic play was written in 1835 and has a similar storyline to ‘Othello’. The run in 1941 had to be cut short because of the invasion of the USSR by Germany. Khachaturian later (in 1944) turned the incidental music into a Suite.
Thanks for visiting!
New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
It looks like you got just enough snow and frost to make things more beautiful but not too slippery. You must be able to skate on your ponds when it gets real cold.
The turkey tail fungi are very pretty examples and I like the frosted thyme. You’ve got some great close ups here!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Allen. The frost and ice has all disappeared now after a day of rain. It was nice while it lasted.
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tootlepedal said:
Beautiful frosty pictures….and good music too.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you. I wish I had been able to get out earlier in the day.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
I’m happy to hear the crabapples are primed for the little birdies. It was so nice to see all of your gorgeous pictures, especially the greenery. We’re having an ice storm now, so things are dark and dreary. Although the ice on the trees is pretty, as long as we don’t lose power. I particularly enjoyed the picture with the caption “It was a beautiful day.” It’s such a peaceful shot, Clare.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jill. I hope your ice storm goes quickly and that you don’t get a power cut. Dark and dreary are bad enough but if you lose power…!
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navasolanature said:
Good to see a bit of frost and hope it makes the return of Spring seem a change.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much. I hope so too! Have you had much bad weather this winter?
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navasolanature said:
In Spain it has been mild and wet , usually colder but here in the Azores a lot of folk are saying that their winter has had more violent storms than ever before. And two hurricanes. But the weather is warm here and should be!
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clarepooley33 said:
I think I’d rather do without hurricanes!
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Jane said:
You certainly seem to have had some unusual winter. The pictures of the snow on the pond are beautiful, Clare. I do like all the frosty pictures and it’s lovely to see some colour happening already in the garden. Spring is on the way!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jane. We are back to mild windy and very wet weather which is with us for another week at least. The plants are so confused!
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susanpoozan said:
A wonderful contrast between the snow and ice and the colour of the spring flowers, you have it all.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Susan.
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quietsolopursuits said:
You really did well shooting the frosty mornings, both the close-ups and the wider views! Since the area that I live in is buried under a foot of snow, seeing the flowers and greenery was a real treat as well.
It must be comforting to know that your church will be getting a new Rector when the current one retires, even if there is a gap between them.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Jerry. Our news is full of the terrible weather you have been getting in the States. I hope you keep safe.
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Gallivanta said:
The crab apples and the miniature irises take my heart today. 🙂 And the music too.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Ann. The miniature irises are my favourites.
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thehappymeerkat said:
You take such lovely photographs :)! I really love all the close ups of the fungi and moss. Most of us don’t usually take the time to appreciate just how beautiful things can look, even something considered a bit ugly like fungus can look so pretty. Do you mind me asking, what sort of camera do you use? I only have a compact digital but the flash recently died and am thinking of what camera to get.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! My Canon point-and-shoot digital camera recently died and I replaced it with a Nikon Coolpix. I am beginning to regret getting it as I don’t find it as versatile as the Canon. All the pictures on this latest post were taken with our larger digital camera, a Canon EOS 1100D which I share with my husband. This is a much better camera but also much more expensive (though we got it in a sale at a much reduced price). We bought a zoom lens for this camera too but since I started taking photos of wildlife I would really like a telephoto lens and a macro lens as well. All very expensive! I think it really depends on the kind of photography you like to do and how much money you can spend. I think my personal preference is for a Canon camera.
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thehappymeerkat said:
Thank you for the info. I’ve heard other people talk about canon being good so I’ll look into that :).
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clarepooley33 said:
My pleasure! I hope you find what you’re looking for.
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Liz said:
Really beautiful and interesting photos, Clare. I am so glad we have had a bit of winter at last to enable you to write this post!! 😀
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clarepooley33 said:
You are very kind Liz – thank-you! 🙂
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Draws Shoots and Leaves said:
The lovely garden and plant photos you posted made me feel really sad ( for the first time) for the loss of my wild country garden. Not a solitary bulb has made an appearance here……..but I will plant some this year. A year without snowdrops, hellebores, grape hyacinths to mark the start of the new year….it doesn’t feel right. I’m remembering the flocks of Fieldfares and Blackbirds that used to visit our crabapple when the weather was cold and the apples mushy. What a mess they left on the snow one year.
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clarepooley33 said:
Oh Sue – how sad! I’m sure this time next year you’ll have bulbs everywhere! You’ll have less brambles/stinging nettles to cope with as well because most country gardens have too many of those!
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Lavinia Ross said:
I am listening to the music now, Clare. Nice selection! Your gardens look to be a bit ahead of ours at this time, although we have had no snow in my location at this elevation, which is at roughly 800 ft. The mountains here got plenty of snow, and this part of Oregon is now out of the drought. The daffodils are close to blooming here in the south facing garden, but your hyacinths and snow irises are well ahead of ours.
Beautiful photos, as always, and I love the one of what I think is Turkey Tail mushrooms (Trametes versicolor).
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Lavinia. I am so pleased to hear that you are no longer in drought. Our garden is so confused with this strange weather. The daffodils and snowdrops are nowhere near flowering and that is quite normal for our cold garden. The hyacinths are weeks too early! Allen of New Hampshire Garden Solutions also thinks my fungus is Turkey Tail so thank-you for the ID Lavinia.
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Julie said:
There is a beautiful uplifting light in your lovely photographs Clare and an uplifting choice of music too. I can imagine how buoyed you are by the news of a move towards a replacement Priest, that must be a weight lifted.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Julie – I am so pleased you liked the post.
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Charlotte Hoather said:
It’s a bit chilly up in Glasgow 😊 your photos are lovely.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Charlotte! Wrap up warm!
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Charlotte Hoather said:
Flu is going around, my friends have all been ill for two weeks and I think it’s catching up with me, exam Wednesday 😳
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clarepooley33 said:
Oh no!! I do hope you manage to keep clear of it. Best wishes, Clare
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greytabby1 said:
Oh I love the Masquerade Suite Clare! I am listening to it while I type! It is wonderfully dramatic and uplifting isn’t it?! I loved this post and seeing all the beautiful frosty photos. I especially liked the frost on the thyme as it was so pretty and the lovely little crabapples. How interesting that the birds will only eat them once they have been frosted. None of the berries in my garden have been touched by the birds this year and we still have not had a frost – so perhaps that is the answer? I was just going to ask if you knew what the beautiful fungus was and I see that it has been identified. Well Turkey Tail is the perfect name for it! Your pond is so beautiful too. Its lovely to have a water feature like that because it looks lovely in all seasons.
Very enjoyable. Thank you for sharing
– Kate
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clarepooley33 said:
I am so sorry it has taken me so long to reply to your comment which I missed somehow! I am so pleased you enjoyed the music.
The winter 2013/14 was so mild here we had no snow and hardly any frosts and the crabapples weren’t touched and were still on the tree when the new leaves began to emerge. I picked all the apples off and left them to be eaten by other animals and I think deer and mice had them eventually. That year we had hardly any blossom on the tree.
This year all the berries have been eaten in the garden and the birds are now left with the crabapples.
Best wishes, Clare
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greytabby1 said:
You never need to apologize Clare – you are amazingly speedy!
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clarepooley33 said:
Hardly that, but thank-you!! 🙂
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greytabby1 said:
:-))
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Hemangini said:
Wow I love your place. It is so serene and beautiful. Love your pictures and the flowers and the places. haha I am repeating myself, sorry excuse me. Stay warm and happy 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
You are very kind – thank-you!
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Ste J said:
It ‘s been a strange old season this year, not that I am complaining about that, it is pleasant to get a respite for the usually torrid weather. Roll on Spring, I have a hankering for leafs again.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Ste – me too!
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Cynthia Reyes said:
What beautiful pictures, Clare. Of both the frosty bits and the flowering bits. It reminded me of our home in the country with its ponds and streams, and seeing the plants come to life in that very early spring where there was still frost but also first-greening.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Cynthia. From reading about your home in the country in your posts and in your book, I think it must have been so lovely! It is nice to be close to nature and notice all the changes the seasons bring. I hope you are keeping warm and safe.
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Beautywhizz said:
Beautiful frosty leaves and I love the pink hyacinth. The frozen pond looks lovely too. I like that merging of winter and spring.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you!
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Cristina.Criss.wordpress.com said:
I like your posts(I do watch,I can watch if want)
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you!
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KerryCan said:
Your photos are beautiful! I love that look of light frost, like a sugar coating. We’ve had a very odd winter here, too, in upstate New York–much warmer than usual. But we won’t be seeing those buds and blooms and signs of spring for a couple more months!
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clarepooley33 said:
How kind you are! Thank-you very much. It felt, looked and sounded like spring today – much too early! Sun shining, strong breeze blowing, large white clouds racing across the sky, birds singing, spring bulbs all in flower.
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womanseyeview said:
It does seem that the whole world is having strange seasons – will we learn anything from it? Some nice wintery photos and loved your photo of the colourful fungus. Thanks for sharing the beautiful music – so many lovely things in life.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you! Yes, life is full of so many wonderful things; we just need to slow down a little and use our senses.
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Catherine Oughtibridge said:
In Egypt I went to the Orthodox Christmas Eve mass and there were so many people that the aisles had to have extra chairs placed in them so at least the more elderly people could all sit down. There was no shortage of priests and younger men and boys in all sorts of levels of training. I can’t help but think that you would have liked their wonderful sense of community spirit.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Catherine. I think I would have loved it. I have often thought I ought to go to an Orthodox service.
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wholelottarosie said:
Will there be a white Christmas again this year? The desire for a snowy splendor at Christmas is probably in the hearts of small and large snow lovers.
Dear Clare, Your photos are magically beautiful and unique at the same time.
I love that.
Clare, stay safe and have a nice day as well!!!
Rosie from Germany 😍
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Rosie! Keep safe and well this Advent-tide. 🙂
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wholelottarosie said:
❤
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