IT was nice to have a few days snow. When it first falls, it creates such a fresh and beautiful landscape, which I just love to walk through, enjoying the lovely scrunching noise and sensation my feet make as I walk through the newly fallen snow.

My favourite places to explore, has to be woodland as the white snow contrasts wonderfully with the dark bark of the bare branches, which to me really adds to the spectacle.

Sounds are also more muffled in snow and I also seem to get a real feeling of tranquility and solitude from walking here.

It is also a great time to see what animals are at large, as if you manage to get out early enough before the multitudes of dogs and eager children criss-cross the areas and confuse the trails, you can easily spot the tracks and signs of the wildlife that has been up early and trying to make the most of what must be a confusing and possibly troubling sudden change to where they live. This time I came across a clear badger track which I decided to follow, to see I if could get a little insight into what this animal was up to this particular morning. Initially the trail was very purposeful, heading in an almost straight line with evenly spaced regular paw prints. Then it turned into an area of confused torn up snow with lots of prints and disturbance there also appeared to be other badger tracks entering and leaving the area of scuffed up snow.

Whilst this is only an interpretation, the pattern suggested to me that the badger had meet with another badger or badgers and they had departed from their usual noble and purposeful stance to madly run round and round in the snow.

It could have been a territorial dispute but my preferred explanation was, like so many of our children ,the badgers were far from fearful of the snow and where taking this opportunity to run around and just have some good old fashion fun.

Snow is at its best when it first falls as it soon loses its beauty, when it is crushed under multitudes of footprints and begins to turn icy and lose its lovely white powdery texture, so it was no sad thing when the sun and rain arrived to wash the majority of the snow away in a relatively short space of time.

There was however just one more treat for me to enjoy and this was out in the back woods of Hurcott Pool nature reserve in Kidderminster, far from the more frequently travelled paths.

The snow was melting fast when I came across at what first looked like an odd patch of snow but it was soon revealed to be an area of snow punctuated with the deep green shoots and pure white flowers of the snowdrop.

Another visual treasure I will take with me from this year’s winter snowfall.