A January Walk

One of my favorite things to do is get out and join Mother Nature for a nice brisk walk.  It has been so cold for so long that walking has not been on my to-do list.  But, today was a surprisingly warmer day with the temperatures getting up to about 60 degrees.  

I grabbed my camera and headed down the back hill.  The day was very overcast,  but wonderfully warm considering what our temperatures have been for most of January. 

As you can see in the below photos,  the trees are sound asleep.

I continued to walk on down to the end of our street 

where this beautiful cow pasture is located in the below photos.

I love that old tree silhouetted against the overcast sky.

We only see the cows in this pasture now and then,  so there must be 

a connecting pasture for them somewhere off in the distance.

It is about a mile walk down to this pasture,  and it felt wonderful
to be out and about in the fresh cool air.

As I walked on back toward home, and up the back hill, I was very surprised to see this Japanese Magnolia blooming in the below photo.   My husband says it is called a Stellata or Star Magnolia.  It must be an especially early blooming tree.  It is hard to believe with the endless intense cold we have had that anything at all could possibly be blooming ... So, what a nice surprise!

 All flowers are pretty, but this is not one of the extremely beautiful Japanese Magnolia species.  It was still a nice surprise to see flowers blooming this time of year.

The hardiness zones for this Star Magnolia tree are from 4 - 9.

I spotted the Spanish Moss in the below photo hanging from 

one of the branches of this Magnolia Tree.

Walking on up along the driveway toward the woods I spotted this Coral Ardisia in the below photo.  I think this is such a pretty plant with its beautiful red berries.  But, this plant is not a favorite here in Tallahassee with lots of folks, because it is considered an invasive plant.  I can see why it is considered an invasive the way it springs up everywhere.

I was so surprised to see that this Camellia in the below photo had survived 

the intense cold temperatures and was blooming away.   How pretty!

And then another surprise walking up the side driveway I spotted this very unusual Camellia also blooming.  The little blossoms on this bush are extremely small only being about an inch in diameter.

My husband found this little Camellia bush at a nursery up in Moultrie, Georgia many years ago.

I was very surprised to see the freezing temperatures had not affected the blooms on this plant either.

 This cute little blossom is only about an inch in diameter and the tree is covered in buds.

I sure had not expected to find anything blooming when I began my walk due to all of our extreme cold temperatures this year. What a nice surprise!  But, more cold is on the way with our local weather forecasters predicting the possibility of snow tomorrow night.  How about that!  It has snowed in Tallahassee before, but it only happens about ever ten to fifteen years.

So glad you came along on the walk today, and also hope you are keeping warm and snuggly during this extremely cold January.

Wishing you many blessings during the rest of this week wherever you may be!