Christmas Eve 2015

A walk in the woods seems to be becoming a tradition on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, no matter how cold. My daughter was kind enough to join me.

Off we go.
Off we go.

Some houses have that little extra Christmas spirit, with visible decorations for passers-by to enjoy.

2 Blue Door 2015
The blue door and wreath.

It’s strange to have Wolvenberg, a little forest area, so close to home in the city as it were. It’s a quite extensive green area and well established.

3 The Woods 2015
Entrance to the woods.

Our winter has been exceptionally warm this year in Belgium, even getting a hash-tag of #lenteindecember meaning “spring in December”. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like we’re lounging around in our swimwear. It is cold but not as cold as it usually is. We haven’t dropped to below zero temperatures…yet.

The bare winter woods.
The bare winter woods.

The woods are very bare this time of year with skeletal trees reaching for the skies, waiting for warmer times.

Walking through the woods at this time of year gives me pause to contemplate. To review what has been, what is and what will be. It’s my personal “A Christmas Carol” experience.

5 Some green 2015
Still some green.

There’s even some green still to be seen among the trees and the ground was very wet from the rain of the previous night. It can make walking a little difficult as the mud can be rather slippery.

6 Skipping 2015
Skipping through the forest.

There’s nothing more wonderful than my daughter skipping through the woods. Even in winter the woods deserves a little skipping through. It brighten things up a bit.

7 Moss Pools 2015
Pools of moss.

We found pools of moss at the base of the trees in this spot. It’s fantastic how some things occur in some places and not in others. Only in this little region did the moss grow like this.

My daughter pleaded with me here to go to the play area across the road for a bit. Well, why not? Today there’s no urgent appointment to be going to. Today is for us and I’d like nothing better for her.

Off we go then across the bridge.

8 Over the bridge 2015
Across the bridge to the play park.

From the bridge we can see all the busy people of the world below. Rushing to their destinations on the road below.

9 The Park 2015
Playing at the park.

We had a really pleasant time in the park. My daughter got to burn off some of that young, crazy energy and I got to relax and enjoy the fresh air. After an hour or so, the clouds started looking very heavy and moving really fast. Being winter, the sun began to set far sooner than we’d have liked. Too soon it was time to go home and prepare for Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Ciao for now.