On the two days before I went on my walk last week, the mornings had been bright, clear and cold with azure blue skies. The day I went – Sunday – it was dull, grey and misty.
Driving to Rickmansworth I wondered what this would mean for the numbers of birds I would see and what impact it would have on any photos I might want to take. I wasn’t overly optimistic on either count.
However, I was to discover that there were all sorts of positives on a morning like this.
First of all, it meant that the number of people walking around the lake was lower than I would normally see on a Sunday. Hence it was quieter, and this combined with what I assume was the muffling effect on the mist meant it felt calm, almost serene. It was to be quiet and restorative time after a late night out.
There were birds around in reasonable numbers and the tree I mentioned in my previous blog had no fewer than 7 cormorants sitting on its branches.
As to the photos, the colours were not surprisingly more muted but this drew my eyes to the trees which grow on a number of the small islands around and in the lake. I have of course noticed them before but against a misty, soft lit almost blurred background their dark branches stood out dramatically.
The branches intertwine at irregular angles creating an effect like a piece of lacework. They are as individual as snowflakes without their geometric symmetry, and are dark not white. Some had budding leaves, others had orangey brown trunks and branches which provided some colour in what otherwise were monochrome waterscapes.
Tufted ducks, cormorants and grey heron added to the monochrome effect, while other birds like the copper necked grebe added small splashes of colour.
One tree I photographed seemed strangely familiar especially when I framed it so it was in the bottom right of the shot. It was a couple of minutes before I realized that it was reminiscent of a picture we bought in a market in Montmartre many years ago. See what you think.
All in all it was good walk, restful, restorative and a provider of a new perspective on the trees I have so often seen.
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