Come out little tree...

Come out little tree, I know you are in there somewhere.

I once said to a friend that I thought the ivy looked beautiful, they took exception to this saying that the ivy strangles the host tree and therefore made it ugly. I have to disagree, the tree is still there underneath, it is still beautiful and I think quite lovely with its dress of green, it is all part of the natural process. It's a type of arrogance to say it should not be just as it is. The old railway line is just doing its own thing, if only all woods and all forests everywhere could be just left but we always have to think we can manage these places and so often in doing so destroy. But then perhaps this is part of our natural process, it's all about balance and acceptance.

When I left the house to go to the track there was an inch of snow in the garden and a lawn full of fluffed up birds waiting for food. In the image above there are traces of snow but with it being south facing and by the sea you have to get along there very quickly after snow falls to catch it in photos. As you can see the track is almost bare, there is woodrush and some evergreens plus of course the various types of ivy. One of these days I shall give you some names of ivy and their meanings. The photo below is in fact not the track but the forests near Aviemore just a few miles down the road and still holding lots of snow even the beach at Loch Morlich was white instead of sandy yellow.