45/52 Leaf Cul-de-sacs

Late on a Saturday afternoon Jodie and I went for a walk in Allestree Park. We collected some leaves and looked at the pond and the animal enclosure, but we'd missed the best of the afternoon, it was dropping cold so we didn't stay long. I was struck by the detail in this leaf, between the veins look like a housing estate on google maps.

16/52 Magnolia Stellata

Caught this Magnolia bloom in Allestree Park. There used to be a pale pink magnolia in the front garden of the house opposite ours, but a few years ago they removed the whole garden and had the frontage completely covered with tarmac. I really miss their magnolia, it was in bloom when Kim was born, and reminded me of her every year after. So now our own drive has been landscaped - bucking the trend here, we have re-instated garden! - we'll be planinting a Magnolia Stellata, Stellata meaning star, and that's very appropriate as we said to Oliver at the time, Kim's gone to be a star (he was only 3).

1/52 Snow bough

We have had quite a lot of snow. We're not accustomed to it, its an unusual event for most of England, so we are not geared up to cope with it - roads are closed, grit supplies run low, schools close, public transport is affected, flights are cancelled. Last year my son had a fabulous time sledging and having snowball fights on his first snow day when the school closed. I was thrilled for him in case it was his only chance to make those childhood memories - we seemed to have snow like this every year when I was growing up. And here we are again, though his school has not closed and he is not so thrilled!