 | Meet Chelsea. As well as being head of northamptonshire.co.uk security, she's also one of the reasons I take to the country lanes around Northamptonshire! This time of year, though, I need little encouragement. |
| When the rain clears and the sun comes out, there's nothing like a brisk stroll in the countryside to get that 'feel good' factor working again. Stepping out in January when there's a chill in the air, a sprinkling of snow on the ground and a clear blue sky is one simple pleasure in life that I try not to miss. |  |
 | The country road between Great Oakley and Little Oakley on the outskirts of Corby gets quite busy during the week when a few commuters take a short cut, but on a Sunday afternoon you're more likely to meet a few enthusiastic cyclists or people out in horseback. It'a about 2 miles between the villages. |
| It's a pretty barren landscape at this time of year. The only leaves to be seen on trees are those of clumps of ivy. All the others disappeared months ago and are now slowly rotting away on the ground to make that wonderful leaf mould that does the garden so much good when it bursts into life in the spring. |  |
 | There are plenty of footpaths to take you off the beaten track if you feel so inclined, but with the amount of rain there has been over the past few weeks it's likely that most paths would be a rather unpleasant muddy experience, so a bit of tarmac underfoot is quite welcome. |
| The amount of rain we've had over the past few weeks has taken its toll and the small streams that you come across from time to time look in danger of becoming full-blown rivers as they try to take the water down to the River Nene. |  |
 | Although we're cosy inside most of the time, others are not so fortunate although the horses in fields along the way seemed quite happy - probably because it wasn't raining! And they're always pleased to see a new face. |
| Birds have the hardest time of all finding food at this time of year (and if you feed them it's important not to forget!) - there are very few sources of natural food left for them now and it's rare to find a few berries still remaining in the hedgerow. |  |
 | A lot of the ivy that's growing has berries at this time of year, but they don't seem to be popular with our feathered friends. |
| With no growth, this is a good time of year to trim the hedgerow and tidy it up ready for the coming summer. In places you can still find examples of traditional hedge laying. |  |
 | The rather barren landscape is broken up by the occassional railway bridge or this viaduct which carries the railway line. |
