No snow here ... and violets in flower

There are times, particularly when it's raining almost incessantly, that I envy those living in the east of this country with their much drier climate. However at the moment it's definitely a case of "west is best" for those needing to get about: whereas the south east is suffering heavy snow there isn't a flake in sight in the Tamar Valley. In fact we have had some brilliant sunshine with crystal clear visibility albeit that it has been bitterly cold.

Yesterday I had a brisk walk a short way down the river. Almost opposite the weir there are some patches of violets - it is a favoured spot and I normally expect to see the odd one in flower before Christmas. In fact two were visible with a bit of searching but a friend had seen them some time previously I was to subsequently learn! A little while ago winter heliotrope in flower was in evidence near the railway station: not a pretty flower in my opinion and an alien swamping any other vegetation in its vicinity but with flowers in generally short supply perhaps I shouldn't begrudge its presence!

Another import and a species much more amenable to me is the mimosa. I have written about these shrubs before and I love their smooth trunks, feathery leaves and bright yellow flowers. One or two hereabouts were totally devastated by last winter's weather. Another one though, in a courtyard in Tavistock was nipped by the frosts at that time but wasn't a total loss fortunately and a few weeks ago appeared to be in good health. I just hope that this cold spell doesn't persist and that once again we see it in flower.

Daffodils out at Cotehele

Although I ignore the festivities of New Year's Eve it is a bit special somehow to go for a walk on New Year's Day. A quick note here about fireworks: there seemed to have been fewer let off in the village this year and by a quarter past midnight silence again reigned supreme, or at least I didn't hear any further unrequested noise! As usual on the TV news they showed the huge displays in Sydney, London and Edinburgh. Regarding the last mentioned venue I have a feeling the show had to be cancelled there last time because of potential high winds, no problem this year with the anticyclonic weather that's persisting although I imagine it was quite cold.

So to New Year's Day. Equipped with flask and picnics we set out on an easy much loved walk to Cotehele. One of the great plus points about the Tamar Valley is that one can arrange routes away from the hurly-burly of heavy traffic. In fact for us traffic is a massive quality of life issue. This particular walk through quiet lanes and on country paths feels like a throwback to an earlier less hurried time and is always a pleasure. Arriving at Cotehele we had a quick look to see if any snowdrops were in flower. Not yet. However we were more than compensated by the sight of a forsythia fully out (!) and what my more knowledgeable friend told me was a witch hazel tree. However the real icing on the cake was seeing a clump of daffodils in flower! All very good to see.

The Tamar Valley is extremely variable in climate and where we live is in a frost hollow. We normally expect the gardens at Cotehele to be ahead of us but even so the daffodils came as something of a pleasant shock.

As to be expected we came across quite a lot of winter heliotrope during the course of our ramble. I've seen it out for some time actually - I'm pretty sure that it is an introduced species, it is quite vigorous and where it gets a hold seems to swamp everything else. In all honesty I never think of it as the most beautiful plant on the planet but welcome the sight of its flowers nevertheless as an indicator of the seasons moving along.

There had been several days here with really bright sun but New Years Day wasn't one of them. However the weather was quiet and dry so one shouldn't complain. A friend nearby told me this morning that it was cold on Dartmoor where she walked yesterday, I can very well believe that. Another big positive of our walk to Cotehele was the fact that my friend brought some of her homemade carrot cake. Yum yum! And we also met up with a couple we hardly knew who hospitably invited us into their home for a cup of tea!

A day of simple but rewarding pleasures.