These midwinter walks are also often seen as a healthy penance for over-indulgence, and risk missing potential pleasures. While the sap has indeed sunk in many trees, by no means all of nature is hibernating now. Watch out for the vivid pale yellow ‘lamb’s tail’ catkins which are beginning to festoon hazels, one of our commonest trees. This is one of those cases when flowers appear before leaves, and you just might find another example at your feet in a hedgerow. So you may find your penitential walk is full of unexpected promise, and your own sap rising, if you pay attention to what may be all around you.

Source: The Irish Times January 03, 2026 06:31 UTC