Snowdrops and long tailed tits

Winters can be depressing for many people and I have to say I particularly look forward to warmer days with more hours of daylight. Having said that, and enjoying the many facets of nature, some winter days are rewarding. One such was yesterday when we had some brightness and the opportunity was taken for a stroll. I needed one or two items of shopping from the relatively small but useful supermarket that adjoins the petrol station at the top of the hill and it's possible to approach said shop by quiet country lanes rather than directly up the more busy main road. Walking along one of these quiet byways I was rewarded first with the sight of a small clump of snowdrops fully out and then a minute or so lately a party of long tailed tits attracted my attention.

I have to say that seeing any of our feathered friends gives me pleasure but none more so than long tailed tits. All the titmice are attractive in my opinion but surely none more so than these. One of the bonuses is that they can't be confused with any other British bird and, with the trees devoid of leaves, this is a great time to see them flitting about.

We had promised temperatures of about +3 degrees but out of the wind it felt quite balmy and certainly seemed considerably warmer than what the MetOffice had promised us. However we have been told to brace ourselves for more snow later tomorrow and high winds as well although it could be the moors getting the worst of it. We shall see soon enough.