Frosty yellow flowers, the hamamelis mollis

hamamelis mollis in the winter, such a happy tree in the middle of winter!

7 January, I notice the first witch hazel flowers emerging. Fragrant yellow curls uncoiling out of their buds.

A few days later, the entire tree is decorated with glowing yellow flowers. I imagine them as reminders of the summer sun, bright and golden.

As the days become colder, frost settles on the petals.

They seem to be quite immune to the cold and frost, continuing to glow underneath the frosty coat.

The frost grows with each passing day...

Until the blooms are covered by shaggy and spikey white crystals.

The sun sets on another frosty day. The witch hazel blooms go to sleep for the night, to awaken again the next day, spreading their lovely winter fragrance through my back garden.

frosty days

.The giant beech tree behind our house, the top is usually used as a perch for crow, starlings or blackbirds.

The smaller trees become the perches of the tiny birds, finches, sparrows or robins.

They seem to happily sit there in the cold, chirping and singing.
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There are some small willow trees in the green down the street.

I thought they looked magical during a severe frost.

The spikey frost makes a lovely contrast to the curvy bendy branches.
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The farmer's field on a foggy day.. the giant oaks looming out of the mist.

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My own willow trees in my back garden, covered in frost. They take on a magical appearance.

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This is my contorted hazel. It always has a special beauty in winter, when without its leaves, one can appreciate the twisted branches.

It looks even more beautiful when covered in a layer of frost. It is truly a wonder to me!

Snow also dresses the hazel in fluffy cold mounds, reminding me of those fluffy little clouds in the first photo.

My frosty back garden, near my shed. There's the contorted hazel, and the weeping willow, and the giant beech behind the wall.

Summerhill Snow

The countryside (near Summerhill) was snowy and frosty on the 24th of December, as we drove to Dublin to pick up my son and his cat. Andrea Bocelli was singing on the radio.