Walking off our Christmas Excess..cheating by going there in the car first!!

This image is of my gorgeous husband, who was trying very hard to convince me it was warm enough to have the roof down!!! He won but l wore a hat, scarf, a pair of gloves and a very warm coat. It was fun.

The next image is the entrance into The "Isabella Plantation" inside Richmond Park. I have always thought it is such a beautiful entrance.

This is a notice that has been pinned to the Notice Board warning people about Ticks. I was ok..long trousers, thick socks and knee-length boots .

 This next image made me giggle....can you see the Disabled loo?

Oh dear..some tiny fingers will be cold. Shame the parent didn't do what l used to do with gloves, when my children were young. I used to sew a ribbon on one glove, thread the ribbon through the coat and then sew that end to the other glove. Hey presto! Problem solved!

I found this image quite funny. How did this tree know exactly where to break it's branch, so it reached the earth with nothing to spare? Ha

We have had a lot of rain recently then, the last few nights, we had heavy frost. The puddles in the park were mostly still "just" frozen and it was interesting to see leaves frozen in the ice and then on top as well. Some of the leaves were almost floating in what looked like jelly. Very weird.

I am not sure what breed this dog is but Tony decided it was a cross between a dog and a sheep! Ha. Anyway, he kept me company for quite a while before he went back to his owners.

The next image is of something that caught my eye when l walked into the Plantation. There, up in the tree, was a tiny blue earing put there perhaps by a person who found it on the ground.

All l can say about this next image is "Bottoms Up"!

This image shows what the ducks look like the right way up. Later on in this blog, you will see an image of a Mandarin Duck..believe it or not the duck in the below image is a juvenile Mandarin Duck!! Weird or what?

For years l have tried very hard to take an image of a Mandarin Duck that l liked.. l have to admit until now l have always failed. Below is an image l am proud of. l hope you like it too.

This is the tiny waterfall, that l found hidden at the back of the pond in the Plantation. I stood listening to the tinkle of the water for ages, it sounded so beautiful.

 Late in the afternoon and there is so much frost still around. I always think frozen leaves look so much more attractive (if you can say that about a leaf?) than when not. There appears to be so much more texture and detail to them when frozen.

 Feeding time for the ducks.There are always adults and children around to throw bread to the ducks, no wonder they all look so healthy!

Can you see the Magpie up in the tree? I am always trying to take images of Magpies but never really succeed to my liking but to succeed twice in one day..magic!

I often hear people say how dull gardens are during Winter..not in this garden it appears. How colourful is this?

 I am always surprised how many greens there are in this world. I think l would call this vivid green an Emerald Green. What would you call it?

 Just love these fungi and  think they look like stone.

 Just love this next image...a mini world on a branch of a tree.

 Wild Garlic.....tastes so good.

This plant is  in, beside and on the bank of all the ponds and streams. It looks so lucious and I think that being wet and partly frozen helped to make them shine.

 I couldn't see a sign that told me what this tree was and as there are no leaves to help, will have to wait until Spring. The reason l am showing an image of it, is because it was planted in 1831!

After we came out of The Isabella Plantation we came across the two sorts of Deer that we have in the Park. The first image is Fallow Deer and the last image is of Red Deer.