The Mild Winter has brought out the Hazel Catkins

The Edwardian Country Lady Diary entry for the 23rd tells us that Edith "Went for a country walk." She described the countryside on that frosty day so vividly, I felt I was walking with her.

110 years later, I too enjoyed frosty fields - from a fast train.

She went on to say "The mild winter has brought out the Hazel catkins, wonderfully early, the small green flowers are fully expanded on some of the catkins, and the pretty little red stars of the female flowers are appearing. The green leaves are out on the Woodbine too make little spots of green among the undergrowth." This is beautifully illustrated with a detailed watercolour of catkins, honeysuckle and ivy. So this week's mission is to find hazel catkins.

Hazel catkins at the edge of the Arden Hotel's car park.

The December of 2015 has been one of the warmest on record and, just as in Edith's time, the mild weather has caused the tight green hazel catkins to lengthen and turn gold. I also found alder trees, with reddish catkins, round the pond I visited last week.

Alder catkins.

While I was photographing the alder catkins a family of long-tailed tits bustled through the trees with much merry chatter.

The hazels, alders and other trees are like shadows of the ancient woods, the Forest of Arden, that once extended over miles of country near what is now Birmingham. In his blog, Robert Moore explains that "The Arden area is effectively bounded by Roman roads ... the Fosse Way on the East side, and the Salt Road along the Southern boundary." His map also shows Watling Street on the North and Icknield Way, some of which has been covered by Birmingham and its suburbs,  on the East

Another shadow of the forest is its name, which appears in all sorts of places such as Hampton-in-Arden, just one stop down the line from Birmingham International station, pubs, street names and hotels such as the Arden where I stayed this week and in whose car park I found the hazel catkins.