Joys of Spring

Just been out. Elder buds are opening in their low key way. Tree with red buds and dark grey pussy willow catkins in flower. (help - what kind of tree? Grey bark? Aspen?)
Stange and unexpected thing. You would never ever guess what i found on the pavement.....
No point in keeping you on tenterhooks, you wouldn't really guess...
A dead woodcock!!!!
Murdered in suburbia.
I picked it up and brought it home. Beautiful autumnal brown feathers.Beak about 10 cm long.
Post mortem .... I think sparrowhawk as it seems to have been killed by a direct hit to an eye. Started to pluck feathers and then, presumably, disturbed by milkman.
I have never seen one before. Apparently they are crepuscular.

just returned from holiday and found my first snowdrops and crocus out, wonderful. Yesterday went to m & s and bought lovely bunches of daffodils to put round the house , looks great

I've just got back from a few days in Scotland where my sister and BiL took me to see the millions of snowdrops on the Cambo Estate in Fife. It was a gorgeous, if cold, day and the combination of the sapphire blue sea, the sunshine and the profusion of snowdrops was magical. In the gardens there were many different varieties, some of them very large and showy. I think I preferred the little ones in the woodland.

As usual super, bagitha and ariaddne beautiful, especially the snowdrops. I am enjoying this thread. You live in lovely places.

Thanks JessM I live in West Cheshire

Tender snowdrops now
Celebrate spring sunshine and
Bow their heads in love.

wow! a mass of snowdrops.
We have a saying in Wales:
Kissing's in season when the gorse is in bloom.
Cos it is always in bloom, at least a tiny sprig.

How horrible

Bagitha

The humble snowdrop is simply stunning. December's hurricane has scarred the wooded areas and deposited tons of debris on the beaches of Kintyre. Teams of residents are attempting to remove it by the sackload. 17 large black dustbin bags were filled last Sunday on one small stretch of beach - almost all plastic and polythene. Ghastly!

hankipanki and super, thank you. Both word pics lovely to come home to. I've spent the day chuntering to the orthodontist and back (five and a half hour round trip) with DD.

On the way
I admired railway embankments –
Mini wild areas
Where the first signs of spring
Are showing:
The bright, glowing, yellow flowers
Of gorse.
Soon there will be early bumble bees
Investigating.
Alongside the railway too,
Where it runs along the shore,
The signs of December's hurricane
Still show:
Bent trees, broken trees,
High tide lines of flotsam
In the middles of fields
Way above the usual beaches.
Then, returning,
A sudden steep bank
Beautifully white
With thousands of snowdrops.

Hankipanki I enjoyed your word-picture. Really beautiful.

Kintyre is wearing
a misty cloak -
bare trunks
branches
twigs
ebony-wet
festooned with silvered lichen.
The ever changing sea
pearly grey-green
the shore-line
speckled pebbles
clink and clatter
as wandering waves
come and go.
Spikey grass
bristling
steadfastly
refusing to bend
in the frisky gusting wind.

I like that. Baggy has spawn. I'm in the sw and don't!

Hey, that's lovely. They are fantastic stealth hunters aren't they.
No frogs here. Are you in the far south?

I have been reading through these 'joys of' threads and really enjoying the contributions. Thought I would have a go but was'nt sure where to put it.
Frogs are currently returning to my pond so thought spring.

Her goes:

The Heron

I look up and she is there
Head low hunched up against the cold
Totally dejected
Do not be fooled
She is stealthily watching
The barely discernible ripples in the water
Swift movement and her head appears
Legs hanging from her beak
Slap slap against a rock
Cleansing in the clear water
Again and again
As a washerwoman
When satisfied
Head back she swallows
Perkier now she settles back
Awaiting her next victim
Should I chase her off?
She also needs to feed
I stand and watch fascinated by her prowess
Suddenly I and detected
Ungainly she lumbers into the air

She will be back

Not too bad here. Tide is out and Wales is rather misty, but we have had some sun.cant see any celebrations in Wales? Wonder how the match went?

"Where are the songs of spring, aye where are they." Not here!

Which loch?

The hills across the loch are a beautiful copper and gold in the late afternoon sunshine. So lucky to live here.

After eights days of fog and mist and drizzle, we have !

How good a shot are you with a dart gun?

Seventimesfive Rory is reclining on his day-bed on the front door step, oblivious to all the torment he has put us through. He is such a character. The trap, decked out to look like a cosy hideaway, doesn't appeal to him in the least. The trap isn't primed at the moment. Rory's wifelt and kits do venture into it...he remains on the outside with a lofty look on his face. Maybe, just maybe, we'll agree to leave him "entire" as we believe he is getting on in years. The nice man is most concerned re the females. Sometime soon, we'll need to bite the bullet and try to capture the girls. It won't easy because they are truly wild at heart. They are bound to be distressed and the vet is a 22 mile drive away. If only we could talk to them and explain that it's for their own good. I'll keep you informed.

supernana I was wondering what had happened. What a cat!

Nice. We have a few fieldfare's around. Hope you are feeling more joyful today Butternut

Small flock of redwings in the garden. They are feeding on the small dark red fruits left on my two malus trees.

That's a man for you

Bagitha lovely word picture.

Rory the cat from Kintyre, is alas still "entire"...uncooperative and steadfastly refusing to play silly b's. He is reclining in his day bed. Round one - he won.