Better late than never...

Gail asked why I was in such a rush to get back to the car, after our walk up a delightful wooded valley near Ballater this morning.

Well of course - and I'm surprised she didn't figure this out for herself - we absolutely had to share with our Nature Friday friends the loveliness of the birch trees in the winter sunshine.

As we ascended the path, the woodland thinned out and and birch gave way to pine and then heather, but the landscape remained, I think, worth sharing.

When we reached the head of the valley, I was still acting so bright and bouncy that Gail suggested we continue onwards and make a circuit back round on a higher level track. But I noticed that the skies were clouding over, and I also reminded Gail that her proposed route was a lot longer and she should not be pushing herself and catching another cold.

So it was back down through the birch trees again...

...and a final sprint to the car. 

Happy Nature Friday folks! And thanks once again to Arty, Jakey and Rosy for hosting this great blog hop.