We speak of cold as if it were a nasty creeping thing
With icy hands and cruel demands, an evil frozen king
Cold is an absence, not a presence. A void. A shell. A wanting
Where no heat glows we find the cold, and find it ever daunting
The cold weather was biting hard this morning with a healthy dose of frost coating the ground. I strode off wearing a little less clothing than was sensible, but that provided me with an incentive to keep moving. Jays could be heard screeching with gusto, as well as the rattle of Magpies hopping along the frozen earth. A Herring Gull flew overhead as I entered Saxon Field and I noticed a few Field Blewits among the Tor Grass as I crossed to the Drove.
The backroads of the park were very quiet this morning with little wildlife stirring in the cold. I passed an Elder with a coating of Common Orange Lichen. Elder are not a particularly hardy tree species and this one was looking a little worse for wear. The lichen on the other hand was as healthy as ever. I suppose if you can grow in Antarctica then the UK must seem like a breeze.
I approached the Dew Pond and took a photograph of its frozen surface. Several Chaffinches had gathered here and were chirping away happily. I also came across a few outcrops of Egghead Mottlegill. There’s also a fresh patch of Glistening Ink Cap on the entrance road to the park while I’m on the subject.
Heading down Lighthouse Slope I spied the hulking form of a Raven, taking to the air and flashing its diamond shaped tail as it departed. I continued along down the Coast Path to the Tilly Whim Caves where a Dunnock and a Stonechat resided among a tangle of Wild Clematis, with a possible Wren darting inside as well before I could get a proper look at it.
Returning to the Learning Centre my ears picked up an all too familiar call, which I recognised as one of the myriad sounds of the Blue Tit. Scanning the naked branches of a nearby Sycamore revealed my suspicions to be correct. Got you this time. Our resident bird expert Greg reported sighting 6 Bullfinches this morning. Well done that man.