Snow today, gone tomorrow.

It is Thursday and I have been watching the rain wash away all of the snow we were blessed with on Monday. I say blessed because the snow usually doesn’t last for more than a few hours in London, which is usually a good thing because the UK doesn’t really know how to cope with the snow. Trust me, I know what I am talking about. I have lived here for over 20 years. They have issues when leaves fall on the train tracks. I am not kidding.

This blessed snow made everything beautiful for three days and caused a huge amount of havoc. People do not shovel the pavement outside the front of their houses as they do in the States. They are not obliged to. I don’t even know if town people own shovels. It was better to walk on the road and risk getting run over than walking on the icy sidewalk. The snow was so wonderful that when you walked on it, it got packed down and then turned to ice. Perfect for skiing, but rubbish for walking.

As you can see from the photos in my previous post, we had a huge amount of snow that turned everything into a winter wonderland. Schools were closed, the buses weren’t running, and a lot of people didn’t go to work. I think my whole town was in Richmond Park on Monday. My son went to work. He works in the local supermarket and was asked to come in as there were people unable to come to work because of the weather. We live a couple of blocks from the supermarket so it wasn’t a problem. When he came home it was dark and we took a walk up into the park before dinner. Because everything was white and it was a clear night, it was quite easy to see in the dark. It was surreal. When we went through the pedestrian gate, I could already see the devastation created by people having trampled through the snow. Looking out into the field, I could see massive snowballs dotted around along with other various snow sculptures. The igloo that was being built earlier in the day was complete. Although my son is 19, he regressed into a little kid and ran around in the snow and we even threw snowballs at each other. I am not talking about little snowballs that fall apart in the air when you throw them, but softball sized ones packed hard. Decent snowballs. It was fun.

It was sunny on Tuesday and I could see that some of the snow had already started to melt. I thought I would go into the park and take some pictures before the snow disappeared and while the sun was shining.

When I got up to the park gates they were still closed to cars. I later discovered that it was possible to drive through the park between Richmond and Kingston gates. It made sense as Pembroke Lodge is that way and they were able to serve lunch and hot and cold drinks as a lot of people brought their children to go sledding down the big hill.

I was a bit dismayed to see all of the snow trampled down. There was barely a patch of pristine snow left. I was grateful that I had gone out the day before when it was still fresh. Almost all of the trees were bare of snow too. Although the park still looked beautiful, I was a little bit sad to see the snow melting away.

I sort of retraced my steps from the day before and when I had my walk in the week before the snowfall. I came across a gentleman with his cross country skis coming down the hill. He looked like he was having a great time.

I ended up at Pembroke Lodge to have some lunch. It was reminiscent of being at a ski resort with everyone sitting outside with their ski gear on, sunglasses and the kid’s sleds. They were doing a roaring business since the road was open to cars on that side of the park.

From Pembroke Lodge, I crossed the road and carried on towards the right of Sidmouth Wood where I met a gentleman carrying a tripod with the largest camera and lens I had ever seen. It put my little Fuji Finepix slimline camera to shame. I asked him if he was a professional photographer, but he told me ‘no’. Turned out that he was just a photography geek and he had been taking photos of the deer.

I carried on walking through a part of Queen Elizabeth’s Plantation where I came across a bunch of oak trees that looked as if they were dead, but still alive. They had holes in them that I could fit inside. I found it incredible that these trees were still living in spite of having had their insides devoured by animals and insects.

I walked along to Leg of Mutton Pond (really) which had been frozen over. You can usually find tadpoles here in the summer. There were some Red deer relaxing and chewing their cud on the other side of the pond, but I left them alone to walk over to the Pen Ponds to take some photos of the birds.

As I walked over to the smaller pond I could see that there were some ducks and swans on the ice. The light was changing and made everything look really sharp and fresh. There was another gentleman there with the same idea and also with a very serious camera. He smiled when I showed him mine, camera that is. It turned out that he was a professional photographer and was just taking photos for fun. We had a lovely conversation about blogs and photography. I just wished he was a little bit younger and single. We waited for the light to brighten up but that never happened, and as it was getting cold we decided to go our separate ways.

While I was walking home, the light changed. Nature never does what you want it too. I smiled.

If you want to see my photos, you can see them here. They are best viewed as a slideshow. I hope you like them.

Snow in Richmond Park

It stopped snowing about 9:30am so I went up to Richmond Park to take some photos. It turns out that all of East Sheen was there as well! There were parents with their children, older school kids, and people with their dogs. Anyone and everyone seemed to be in the park. There were people building snowmen and igloos. There were people having real snowball fights, not the virtual ones on Facebook. Give me a real snowball fight any day.

The park was one glorious winter wonderland and everyone there was having a great time. I wandered away from the crowd (it was very noisy) to take some pictures. I saw a little Robin, but I wasn’t quick enough to take a photo, ditto with the parrots and the crows. I focused on the trees and the deer. I am better with stationary objects.

I made a Snow Angel. How could I not? It was easier making it than getting up! I’m not sure that it was such a good move though as I was wearing jeans and they got a little bit wet. I was a bit worried that I might get frostbite on my butt as it started snowing again and becoming colder.

Here is a video of the trees. It isn’t very good as I am still getting used to certain features on my camera, but you can certainly hear the birds and get a good idea of how beautiful the trees were in the woods.

I had a lovely walk in the snow. I could hear the crunching sound of every footstep I took. I could taste the snowflakes falling from the sky. Yes, I actually stood out in an open field with my head tilted back and my tongue sticking out so I could taste the snowflakes. I could feel the cold wind on my face and the icy hardness of the snowball I created. I could see the beauty created by nature, with my naked eye and enhanced with my tinted glasses that cut the glare (my driving glasses for grey, rainy days and better than drugs).

Here are the photos I took today. While editing, I couldn’t decide which I preferred. All of my photos came out with a blue tint and I wouldn’t mind some bright spark telling me why that happened even though it was a grey day. Then I couldn’t decide if I liked the AutoContrast or Feeling Lucky editing feature on Picasa. So I uploaded all three! The trees are my favourite.

If you view the photos as a slideshow, you can see the photos change subtly.

It is amazing how a bit of snow can transform our environment. My garden hasn’t looked this good for months. Welcome to my winter white world. They don’t call it pure as the driven snow for nothing. I think everyone should take the day off from work and play in the snow!

A walk in Richmond Park

I didn’t get the job - neither of them. I am disappointed only as either job could have been interesting and they would have provided me with an income. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the ‘wow’ factor. Frankly, I haven’t had the ‘wow’ factor for very many years. Maybe the Universe is trying to tell me something. If it is, then I am not really getting it and am hoping to gain some clarity in this area. I am having faith that there is something really great out there for me without panicking about my financial situation.

In between sending out my CV, I have been reading books and writing for my blogs. Some of the books I have been reading recently had me thinking about my spirituality. I do not usually discuss this aspect of my life as I feel it is a personal journey unique to every individual. I have realised that I need to get back to doing some of the things I used to do, to connect with my higher self. I need to find out what it is I should be doing for a living. Traditional forms of meditation don’t really do it for me. I am Action Woman and find that I need to move to free my mind. Gardening is usually good for that, but I don’t do gardening in the winter. Being in nature is always great too.

I am very lucky to live near Richmond Park. The park has been my refuge for the last 20 years. I don’t believe that there is any area in the park that I haven’t been to. It has been an extension (figuratively speaking) of my back yard. I would take the children there for walks and picnics. I was there twice a day when I had the dog. I would go alone or walk with friends. It is amazing how many nice people you meet when walking a dog.

I have seen changes and improvements over the years – some good and some not so great. The best thing is the cycle/foot path that goes all around the park. When I am in good form, I can cycle around the park in about an hour. There is one steep hill that is a bitch to cycle up and I have never yet managed to do it without walking part of the way. If I am on a focused walk with no deviations, it can take about 2-3 hours to walk around. I find it difficult not to go off the path if something interests me.

There is also a horse track around the park. You get a different perspective while on horseback. There are several riding stables outside the various gates to the park. It is like being in the country. I love it.

After a rubbish wet Wednesday (the day of the second job interview), Thursday turned out to be GLORIOUS! It was beautifully sunny and slightly crisp. I just live for days like this, especially in the winter. So, I decided to go for a walk, take some photos, and become one with nature. As is now becoming my habit, I brought along the camera and also the tripod.

I will take you on a little journey on a small section of the park. Here is a link to a map to help you along. I know it is the middle of winter, but to me, the park is beautiful all year round. At this time of year, the ground is fairly wet and muddy. There are underground springs throughout the park and there are certain places that never completely dry out. The bracken is dried out and a rusty brown colour, the grass is green, the bits of long grass is brown/tan, the trees are barren and the sky on Thursday was bright blue.

I put on my hiking boots, grabbed my gear, popped on my sunglasses, and off I went. I walked in through Sheen Gate and made a right towards Richmond. I decided to go off track towards Two Storm Wood. There were a few trees out in the open, one with a kite that got caught up in the branches that I had to take some photos of. I just loved the shape of the barren trees and being able to see the blue sky through the branches.

Until today, I never knew that Two Storm Wood was called that. I just knew that it was an enclosed area that I used to take the kids and the puppies and it was a shortcut to Holly Lodge (which used to be called Bog Lodge). I hadn’t been in the enclosure for quite awhile and was surprised to note how big the saplings had grown in the last 20 years. It was turning into quite the forest.

I carried along past the horse paddock (no horses out today) towards Holly (it will always be Bog to me) Lodge where I noticed some deer resting. Richmond Park, being one of the Royal Parks, is known for having two types of deer. There are Red deer and Fallow deer. The deer near the lodge were Fallow Deer. You can tell the difference between the two types as Fallow deer are smaller, have spots on their rumps, and their antlers tend to have broad parts between the points. The Red deer, and what most people are familiar with, are quite large, are a reddish brown colour, and have quite majestic looking antlers.

Every year, after the rutting season, the gamekeepers cull the deer. There are no real predators in the park unless you count the foxes, but I think that there are more foxes living in the residential areas than in the park from the sound of them in my garden each night. What a racket they make. Sometimes I can hear the deer making their rutting calls in the night. Fortunately I haven’t heard any shots being fired. It turns out that that they are culling several times a year now. I frankly don’t understand that as there is usually a reason why hunting season is allowed only once a year at a certain time. In any event, I was quite close to the deer when taking these photos. The deer are quite used to people, although they don’t like dogs and have been known to be assertive on occasion, especially during the rut and when they have their young around. I’m usually very careful around the deer and can tell when to keep clear. Today they were just lounging around and enjoying the sunshine.

I carried on up the path along the road toward Richmond gate and saw that there were a few cattle grazing in another enclosed area. Apparently the ground is being grazed to conserve the grassland. I then went to see what the chestnut situation was. There are edible chestnut trees in the park, and this year the chestnuts looked a bit too small for eating. People are encouraged to leave them as food for the deer and other animals, but I have been known on occasion to bring some home for roasting. You can also find edible mushrooms if you know what to look for. There are parasols and magic ones. I personally don’t know what the magic ones look like, but I have seen others collecting them. I hope they enjoyed themselves.

I turned left at Richmond Gate towards Pembroke Lodge. The lodge and grounds has gone through many changes over the years. You are not allowed to take dogs into this area. It is probably the only dog mess free zone in the whole park. Tip: before attempting to sit under any tree in the park, please remember to check for dog mess.

There are some lovely views towards Petersham from this part of the park and you could see a mist in the trees that gave the view an ethereal look. Rather romantic I thought. I stopped into Pembroke Lodge for a pot of tea and a sandwich. On the weekends they have hot lunches as well as cold food and it gets very busy. It wasn’t too busy today and most everyone was sitting outside enjoying the view and the sunshine. I was remembering when I used to come with the children when they were small and the terraces were planted out with flowers. Now they are just grassed over as with many sections in this enclosure. Obviously it is easier to maintain and they must have had budget cuts. It is still attractive, but I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic for how it used to be with colour all year round.

After lunch I thought I would head back home. I came upon a large patch of snowdrops under some trees. They were so pretty and made me think that it wouldn’t be long before spring was upon us. Just a couple of months to go now. I heard some shrieking around the corner and saw a few parrots around a birdfeeder. There is a huge flock of wild parrots in the park which are the offspring of an escaped pair. They like to hang out in the trees around the lodge and sometimes I can see them from my house or garden as they also like to hang out and make noise in one of my neighbour’s trees. They are a vivid green with red beaks and have the cheekiest look about them.

I crossed the road from Pembroke Lodge and carried on left around the outside of Sidmouth Wood and back towards Sheen. I came across some red deer near the horse track at the top end of Sawpit Plantation. There was quite a large stag with his harem of does. He was looking very magnificent with his large antlers and was probably 8-10 years old. I was careful not to get to close as these deer can be particularly dangerous.

I crossed the road and carried on back towards Sheen Gate. I had been in the park for around 3.5 hours walking, taking photos, having lunch and contemplating nature and life. When I reached the gate I quickly phoned a friend and found she was walking her dogs in Sheen Common, so I made a left out the gate and headed over that way to meet up with her. I had been thinking how much I used to enjoy taking the dog for a walk in the park and started to seriously contemplate the idea of getting another dog. I gave the thought all of five minutes when I remembered that I have plans for the future and that I just got rid of my kids and should focus on myself for awhile and not think about looking after another being. There will be time for that later if I still want it. See, I really need a job to give me something to do so I don’t think about puppies. My friend complaining about time constraints with the dogs put me off the idea too. I can always do some dog walking if I feel the need for canine companionship. While walking the dogs we met up with another friend of mine walking her dog. It was quite the social afternoon. I always meet up with someone I know when I go out for a walk. That’s what happens when you have lived in one area for so long.

You can see my photos from my walk here. It is amazing what beauty can be found in nature if you bother to look for it. I did get some answers to some of my questions and I felt grateful to live in an area with such a beautiful park on my doorstep. Welcome to my world. I look forward to sharing it with you.