Silver birch in ice

It had been the intention to try and get up into the Peaks but the local road reports confirmed the foolishness of this plan even in a 4x4. So instead it was the normal routine; supermarket, then visit to Mum's. Rather than snow we had freezing rain overnight, leaving the roads like skating rinks by morning. I was positively bricking it as "white van man" tailgated me all of the way along the A34 to the local supermarket.

I did stop off on the A5 and walked (I mean slipped) down an old road, now gated off by the Highways Department. I disturbed a group of red deer grazing just by the main road, unfortunately I wasn't quick enough and I have a positive aversion to photos of deer's bums!

The land around here is very waterlogged. I liked the way the posts stuck up out of the water adjacent to these silver birch and a slight mist had risen over the pasture behind.

The shot is a combination of two layers. One has been blurred to soften the background. I then used a layer mask to reveal the sharper form of the trees and posts.