Small Wonder

January's shaped up into a busy month for me, and the longer I spend at my computer, the easier it is to forget that one of the reasons I started Outdoor Culture was to spend more time outdoors myself. Most months I get away to the mountains, and this weekend I'm off to Snowdonia to have a look at Cadair Idris and stay at the bothy at Penrhos Isaf. It'll be my first time in a bothy, so no doubt I'll have something to say about it on this blog in due course.

I haven't been away since January, but the Chiltern Hills have been really doing their stuff recently, and I've made a point of getting out for walks with and without my children.

I'm a fan of artist James Aldridge's blog, with its reminders of the small wonders all around us, and thought I'd post up a few photos and thoughts inspired by James' way of thinking and the beautiful countryside just beyond my front door.

I took these photos on 11 January, after a brief flurry of snow had melted, and a freezing fog laid amazing ice crystals all over the Chilterns.

I went out for about four hours, covering a fair distance from Great Missenden through Little Hampden and across the valley to Great Hampden and home again through the woods in the dark. The fog and the frost made everything unreal; unfamiliar. The absence of grand views made it easier to read the small print in the landscape.

I pushed the ice off these buds with gloved fingertips. Spring is at the heart of winter.

Avian signposts - pointing away from the direction of travel. Look where I've been: this is where I come from.