It hasn’t snowed since last Sunday, 6 days past but the snow still lingers in the woods. Probably this cold north easterly blast from Finland is keeping the snow from any sudden melt. One thing I can vouch for is the cold bleak feeling amongst the skeletons of trees. Even though the sun is doing its very best to shine this morning the blue sky, whilst bright, adds an icy feeling to the day……
But there are some signs that spring has been easing its way towards us. Bright green Daffodil leaves are pushing through the snow. May be within a couple of weeks we will have yellow carpet over the woodland floor. The foot prints are interesting….I should say paw prints as these are all rabbit tracks, once small but dramatically growing to yeti size as the snow slowly melts…….
But hiding away in one corner is this small clump of flowering daffodils, no doubt an advanced party sent on ahead to scout out the way ahead!
Apart from the icy blasts the winds have been very strong, so I am just a little surprised that there has not been much wind damage to the trees. Apart from stripping off much of what remains of last years Oak and Beech leaves the only casualty are new growth tips of the Pine trees. There green needles look healthy enough but for some reason nature has decided to do just a little extra pruning……
The Lake has seen a constant change, one minute covered in ice the next thawed with the wind whipping up a constant sea of waves, then the next ice, the calm dark mirror like water. But beneath that dark surface there has been much new growth forming, now new tips of Reeds are pushing their colourful shoots out into the open, whilst new Lilly Pads are starting to form just beneath the surface. May be spring is going to come our way after all….
Back to the Saga of the Gloves
(Yes… we must)
The plot thickens. Last week I found a child’s mitten. Significantly it was a right handed mitten. To-days find is a similar mitten but more importantly ALSO a right handed mitten.
Strange that all adult gloves found so far are left handed. Now there are two possibilities.
1. As suggested last week children have yet to learn that is the right hand you keep and the left you loose.
OR
2. Is it possibly that right handed loss is strictly limited to Mittens
If anyone can ‘lend a hand’ to settle the mystery please feel free to add your facts to help solve this mystery.
29th March
© David Oakes 2013
DAVID OAKES - IMAGES. 