April 30th – Yes, spring continues although the expected weather has still failed to turn up for the gig.
Spotted in Pleck, Walsall, near the Scarborough Road bridge, a momma Mallard proudly marshalls her new ducklings away from the inquisitive human and to apparent safety.
First hatchlings I’ve seen this year. Always a joy to the heart.
April 27th – A mystery finally solved. I first noticed this patch of what appear to be yellow dead nettles in Footherly Lane a few years ago. Every spring they return, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them anywhere else.
This eye-catching yellow display is absolutely gorgeous and fascinated me for the delicate colour and intricacy of the flowers.
After asking online, it turns out the plant is Yellow Archangel or Lamiastrum galeobdolon and indeed is of the same family as the dead nettle, and a staple of our ancient woodlands.
What on earth did we do before being able to use the collective hive mind of the internet for plant identification?
April 23rd – Later that same day, a visit to Telford saw me hauling up the cycleway to Priorslee. A few short weeks ago this view was barren and grey.
Once more this byway is turning into a beautiful tunnel of verdant green.
I love how spring and summer can make even the most dystopian of places beautiful.
April 22nd – An odd sight in spring is always the first wind-seeding wildflowers, in this case I’m not sure what it is, possibly hawkweed. It seems almost incongruous to see seed heads at this time of year, but most flowers who seed this way do so throughout the season.
Such beautiful, silky fluff on this one.
April 22nd – One of the loveliest things about this time of year is falling petals from trees in blossom.
Like nature’s own confetti, it celebrates the coming of warm days, sunshine and light.
To see this delicate beauty, driving in swirls on the breeze, dappling grass and decorating you as you pass is a joy to the heart.
I just wish it wasn’t over so quickly!
April 11th – Over in Telford on a misty grey and damp morning, crossing the motorway on the cycleway bridge I noticed that the blackthorn blossom was in full swing.
One of the earlier tree blossoms of spring, it’s usually a pointer to better weather. Often mistaken for hawthorn, it turns hedgerows and copses white for a time, but before the leaves are fully out.
It shows it’s real beauty on a sunny day. Ah well, better luck next time.
April 9th – on a verge on the same estate, these cheerful souls need no introduction.
With a bold sun burning up the mist, their perfection was inspiring, beautiful and a lovely boost in my day.
Such a lovely thing to see.
April 6th – A frenetic, hurried visit to Telford in the afternoon showed me something about spring I forget – the optimism and resilience of nature. At the worksite of the new footbridge project, daffodils I spoke of as being lost last year under diggers and demolition have not just survived, but sprout from every patch of undisturbed ground. Bobbing cheerfully from scraped embankments, mounds of silver and defiantly decorating piles of rebar, these yellow flag bearers for better times will not be put off.
Meanwhile, steelwork is going up apace now.
Some features of spring are not just beautiful, but life-affirming.
April 3rd – The day had been beautiful, but the late afternoon was punctuated by frighteningly intense rain and hail storms, and riding back home tentatively in light drizzle, my tenacity was rewarded with one of the finest rainbows I’ve ever seen.
Wednesbury was a great place to catch it, and it was worth the soaking.
The weather doesn’t have to be good to have a beautiful day…
March 15th – Spring is in residence at Kings Hill Park, Darlaston.
The sun rises not long after six am, and sets not long after 6pm.
We are approaching the spring equinox.
Whatever the weather doom-mogers are saying, the light is here. There flowers are arriving. Spring is taking to her throne.
Welcome back, your majesty – it’s been a long winter.
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