Ice sculptures etched in the mud

As I set off across the Heath at 8.30 yesterday morning it was cold, seriously cold. The sun was cheeringly bright but the air was icy. And so was the mud. But because the mud is so deep and so wet, tiny ice images had formed in every footprint left by Saturday’s visitors. Here is just a small selection.

A snail and a little beetle?

Ice bridges across a tiny mud ravine?

A lily encased in ice?

Another beetle – his wings spread?

And delicate etched Venetian glass….

And then, down near the tennis courts, I found this tiny Christmas tree that someone could obviously not bear to throw away, so planted it in the mud.