Blashford was unusually quiet today, not really surprising as roads to the reserve were treacherous and the fog meant that seeing more than a few tens of metres was impossible. This is not to say that there was nothing to see however. At the Woodland hide there were at least 2 male brambling feeding with the chaffinch and from Ivy South hide the ducks were concentrated close to the hide, giving great views. However the real things to look at were the effects of the cold weather on the everyday things around the reserve, the heavy frost on the trees and grass and frosted seed heads. Best of all, in my opinion were some amazing iced leaves embedded in some of the frosted puddles.
Iced leaves
The mass of leaves looked good but some of the single leaves were even more impressive.
Ice leaf
I think the effect comes from little pockets of air trapped along the leaf veins, but I don’t remember seeing it before.
Today was also notable as the day our new apprentices started, they are working with us until the end of March as part of the “Our Past, Our Future” project with the New Forest National Park.
Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve 
Interesting pictures. Good luck to the apprentices. Who wouldnt want that as a job 😉