Spring Tease…..

Dawn and the sun looked bright casting long shadows through the woods.  Now that is two days on the run that it has actually looked as if spring has sprung………

As the forecast is for grey clouds and rain later it was best to take advantage early, so it was out with the dogs for todays woodland walk.  The long shadows and early glow to the sun just seemed to emphasis the barren nature of the fields hedges and woodlands…..

Snowdrops have been on show for awhile now but are still managing to brighten up some shady corners of the woods…..

But todays ‘star attraction’ for me is the Ivy.  It may well be an evergreen one of the few to give us a continuity of welcome green foliage through the winter, but right now it comes back into its own, bright shinny leaves on red stems…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ivy is just a bit like ‘Jacks Bean Stork’ as it clings and climbs for ever upwards on its hosts tree’s trunk…..

Followers will know that we had a great woodland walk in some well established native Oak, Beech and Chestnut woods yesterday.  Despite the sunshine and milder feel to the weather one thing was notably missing and that was bird song.  In fact apart from crows and rooks scavenging on the open fields there was little sign of any birdlife.  Today the woods are predominantly Sycamore, a tree that has a bad press from conservationist and indeed parts of these woods under threat……

It is claimed they do little for wildlife.  Well this morning these woods are alive with bird sound.  Great Tits, Nut Hatch, Green Finches have a spring like call. Robins and Wrens are busy territory marking with a more aggressive call. Collard Doves and Wood Pigeons busy quietly preening. Greater Spotted Woodpeckers are hammering away and the Green Woodpecker disturbing these more melodious sounds with their loud cackling laughter….in fact these woods are one of the very few Derbyshire locations where Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers can be found, indeed there can be few locations where all three British Woodpeckers species can be found in one place. 

So much for Sycamore being bad for wildlife, for if there are birds there has to be insects, pollen, seeds and moisture……

There is already some new growth on some trees.  Catkins are now fluffing up and turning a rich yellow…….

The needles of the Scott’s Pine are also starting their very own seasonal change, last seasons needles turning slowly brown and being replaced by fresh new green clusters…..

But perhaps it is as well that this ‘taster of Spring is not to last the day out as back home there is a mountain of work on the desk and deadlines to meet.  But for just a short while I can enjoy the Crocus below my office window…still catching the days sun…….

 

A P.S.

Fellow blogger Charles of openmindedimages http://wp.me/25VHs

has lets say a mild fetish with shoes, he is frequently coming across the single shoes in the the most unlikely of locations…never a pair and often miles from nowhere. It happened so often that he thought he would capture each new discovery.

Now shoes are not my thing, but gloves are becoming my….or rather forcing me…to become a Glove spotter!  So far the only thing these lone gloves have in common are that they are left handed gloves, posing the question why only left? Here is todays discovery…..

So that is it my first ‘find’ recorded for posterity….watch out for  more.

14th March

© David Oakes 2013