Today was gloriously sunny after a hard night's frost. Just on the left hand side of the Woodyard Gate to Brede High Woods is a large coppiced hazel. When I started my walk I am sure all the catkins were tight closed, yellowish grey lamb's tails.
By the time I cam back just one had expanded in the warm sunshine above the rime. Maybe I did not notice it on the way out but I like to think it crept open to its full yellow, pollen-filled length during my two hour ramble.
Hazel catkins often start as early as the first week in January, but I have rarely seen them in this area in late December.
