Come let’s walk together on this clear late winter’s afternoon.
ith frosty grass crunching under foot, let us walk up the hill towards the top wood. In the West the setting sun is turning the sky glorious shades of yellow and gold. Absorbed and delighted by the sight, we stand and look until the sky starts to darken towards nightfall. Tucked up against winter’s cold, we walk along quiet mysterious footpaths filled with the ephemeral shadows and sounds of the night. The darkening sky starts to fill with a thousand stars and we feel we are standing on the threshold of infinity, two lonely figures under the vast expanse of the universe. Alone, but not lonely, feeling part of everything set before us, we exchanging but few words of wonder in a mere whisper, not wanting to disturb the serenity of these sacred moments, in this peaceful place.
What a pleasure it is to wander with a like-minded friend on a night such as this. With the murmuring sound of the nearby river below it seems that we can almost hear crackle of blue starlight high above. Breathing the pure night air, minds at rest, bodies safe and warm, tonight we have roamed beyond the restraining net of human consequence.
Along these dark pathways
far from the noise of the day –
peace found in natures tranquillity.
Some amazing photos kindly posted to the Linn Park facebook page.
They show what is known as Hair Ice, which is an interesting phenomenon.
The strange, candy floss look is caused by a fungus called exidiopsis effusa which is growing on the wood.
The action of the fungus is to enable the ice to form very thin hairs - with a diameter of about 0.01mm - and to keep this shape for many hours when temperatures are close to freezing.
It is reported that the fungus grows mainly on beech trees.
See the BBC's page explaining this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-35280155