A Cotswold Year - Charting the seasons in the South Cotswolds


Saturday 26 December 2015

Mummers

 Marshfield Mummers perform their traditional Boxing Day play in the village of Marshfield every year. King William once again slays Little Man John at various places through the village in this ancient play enjoyed by locals and visitors.
Don't worry Dr Phoenix is there to come to he rescue.

Thursday 24 December 2015

Sloes

 The fruits of the blackthorn are still plentiful in the hedgerows although they are starting to wither. Traditionally people wait until they are frosted before gathering but there has been little frost during this exceptionally mild autumn.
Now many pick the sloes and put them in the freezer, or prick them before adding to the gin so that the juices run into the liqueur.
Sloes also make a delicious jelly when cooked with apple. The sloes give it a festive red colour.



Saturday 12 December 2015

Blue Sky and vapour trails.

Days are short in December and many are dull and wet but the sky does clear sometimes and we had spectacular views across towards South Wales with lots of vapour trails from westbound jet aircraft as the sun was low at around 3.00pm yesterday.

Friday 4 December 2015

Willow in the sunshine

Weather experts have recorded November 2015 as the dullest in terms of sunshine for 86 years.
Today we were lucky along with other visitors to be treated to a brief sunny spell on our visit to Slimbridge WWT. The willows were showing off their many colours as the sap starts to rise in the bare stems, together with the pampas grass heads.
We visited at high tide and the estuary was a delight with flocks of Golden Plover, Dunlin and Lapwings swirling together with large numbers of ducks, geese and swans. December is a good time to visit.


Wednesday 2 December 2015

Winter in the woods

Where does time go...it's a month since our last blog!
The landscape here looks decidedly more wintry each week with most leaves blown from the trees and under our feet as we tramp through the woods. 
A few younger trees hang onto their leaves and of course the holly and ivy remain green. 
The bare woods mean that bird life is easier to spot so keep an eye out like us.