A rain forest in a hedge-bank ...

When I first started this blog way back in 2011, there were times when I could use it to focus on my nature writing as well as the 'arty' side of things.  So this year I have made a promise to myself to write more about my experiences with the natural world, those that really capture all aspects in all weathers and conditions.

This blog post has taken a while to evolve, from the beginning of the year to be accurate.

The last day of the year in 2017 we were settled in a granary cottage on the beautiful Little Comfort Farm situated in the depths of the north Devon countryside.
The winter weather was typically British with rain showers visiting us for various lengths of time, delivering their load and giving the surrounding hedge-banks what looked like a shower of diamonds, once the sun was shining.

After one such delivery we ventured away from the wood-burner and headed outside.

The lane was surrounded by high hedge-banks which created almost a humid climate due to their sheltering nature.  As I looked closer the realisation came that the vegetation on those banks gave you the feeling of being in a miniature rain forest.  

The tiniest capsules of the mosses were weighed down with moisture, the hairs of Wood sorrel leaves glistened in the sunshine and the new Harts tongue fern fronds and others looked as though they had been brushed with varnish.  

Further jewels of nature became more visible as we peered closer, not all touched by the rain but still shining out from the surrounding vegetation due to their colour, texture and pattern.

Don't forget to look around you after the rain - you may be in for a surprise !