Naturally…

I start this post with a sigh.

Quite some time ago I mentioned here that I should like to start making some Nature Diary entries. We returned home yesterday after over three months away, the sun was shining and things were growing. Now is the time, I thought to myself.

Nell and I went for our morning dog walk and I picked up my camera bag. When I came to use the camera I found that its battery was dead and my spare battery was not in the bag.

Typical.

The sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm, though with a strongish and cooling breeze. The trees spoke of winter but the sun was whispering Spring and there are sheep in the field. I was soon too warm in my fleece top.

The ground has clearly been very wet but on our route today, although Nell found plenty of puddles, there was no mire to be trodden through. The ditches are full of water. The verges are cut short so there is not a great deal to be seen but there were some definite flashes of colour.

Nell’s frog pond and the little lake are both also full. She looked hard but failed to find either frogs or coypu.

So, what did we see today?

• Catkins
• Daisy
• Speedwell
• Dandelion
• Celandine
• Pulmonaria (a fantastic jolt of blue)
• Bluebell (not yet fully in flower)
• Violet
• Cowslip (just the one)
• Buzzards
• a lone Butterfly
• and, in the gardens: Daffs, Snowdrops, Mimosa

There have been reports of a Wolf being sighted whilst we have been away. It may or may not be a dog but there are supposedly photographs and a farmer, sadly, has reported 7 sheep having been taken. Wolves are clearly not great for farmers but oh, my, wouldn’t I love to get a sighting in the wild. Such beautiful beasts.