Spring, still unsprung

Snowdrops at Philorth

The wood at Philorth is still carpeted in the white drifts of snowdrops. By the end of March last year they had almost all vanished to be replaced by celandines and the first of the wood garlic.This year the are only a very few celandines in bud and the margins of many of their leaves are brown and frosted. The wood garlic has not yet started to open, nor has the grass started to grow and there was still ice on shaded puddles at mid morning. Most trees have enlarged buds which have not yet started to open. Only the raucous rooks busily fussing about their nests and the very occasional daffodil seem to be aware that it is actually spring.