The Woods at Philorth

Grey Granite and Rufus explored the woods at Philorth this afternoon and rejoiced to have the freedom to wander about at will whenever they chose. The margins of the wood are carpeted with celandines, golden in the sunshine. Deeper in the wood there is a dense carpet of wild garlic, the spathes ready to burst open. The dense, pungent foliage was in places taller than Rufus who explored eagerly bounding through the leaves, emerging with a distinctly Gallic smell. The reddish look to the trees which we noticed at the weekend comes from the sycamore buds which are just starting to burst. Sycamore seems to be the dominant species - hundreds of seedlings are growing in the dubby path. There are also occasional larches, with the most wonderful new green needles, a magnificent horse chestnut just starting to open, and elders with their fingered leaves already formed. Here and there are elms, again just budding. Grey Granite suddenly recalled the Browning poem, 'Home Thoughts from Abroad, memorised 47 years ago 'and who ever wakes in England, now that April's there /Sees that the brushwood sheath round the elm tree's bowl is in tiny leaf '.

This walk was a taster carrying the eagerly anticipated promise of longer explorations further afield as Rufus develops.

The Rite of Spring

According to Richard Mabey and Tony Evans writing in 'The Flowering of Britain' (Hutchinson & Co 1980) Spring, as measured by the first flower openings of given species, advances from South to North in Britain across flat ground at the rate of roughly 2 miles per hour.

The progress of this gradual greening of Britain may be seen at:
http://www.naturescalendar.org.uk/findings/spring_from_outer_space2

Fair days and foul

A sunshine yellow dandelion to match the crisp Spring sunshine yesterday, a day when despite the cold, the banks of emerging gorse flowers over the Wastart and the general air of new green growth gave a real feeling of Spring optimism.
Today however,the day lengthens and the cold strengthens - March is living up to 'in like a lamb, out like a lion' and there are blustery gales and sleet squalls, Winter appears to have returned.

Butterbur

The three large patches of butterbur at Cortes, have now opened fully and can be identified as the white form. (Petasites albus)The strange, striking white flowers are a conspicuous feature of the verge near the junction with the Peterhead road. The plant has both male and female flowers, borne in broad racimes, more densely clustered in the male plants. Pollination is by insects.

A few small leaves, like those of the related coltsfoot, are just starting to appear, these will eventually be up to about 50cms. Historically the leaves were used to wrap butter, hence the plant's name.

Spring

What a lot we miss by dashing about in our cars. This morning Grey Granite went to the shore at New Aberdour to take some pictures. It was a beautiful sunny day so she parked at the kirk in the village and walked down the brae to the beach. There were larks singing their hearts out and a single plaintive lapwing above the field behind the kirkyard, and at the beach raucous flocks of oystercatchers.

Grey Granite was amazed by how many patches of snowdrops there were at the roadside, a huge sea of them behind the old kirkyard and even a small group on the far side of the den. In the warm sunlight their flowers were splayed fully open.
Down at the shore in the sunny area near the mouth of the den there were patches of coltsfoot and a single, tattered celandine. Spring has indeed arrived.

Willows

Yesterday Grey Granite read that willow catkins are invaluable in providing pollen, not nectar, for the earliest bees of the year. Today she went out in search of willows. Given that the temperature is 4 degrees C there were no bees visting the beautiful silky willow catkins in Strichen Road Park.

There is interesting information about bees on:

http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/wildlife/insects/bee-bumble.aspx

Snowy Sea Buckthorn

Grey Granite found this beautiful sea buckthorn bush, clustered with berries growing in the hedge along Boothby Road. When she saw them yesterday the sun had just started to catch the upper branches, melting the snow and illuminating the berries so that they seemed to glow. According to Millken and Bridgewater writing in Flora Celtica, (Birlinn 2004) the berries are eaten by birds such as fieldfares however, whilst the roses and elders in the same section of hedge have been denuded of fruits, the buckthorn remains apparently untouched.

Plant hunt by the A90

Grey Granite decided to try to find the elusive butter bur which she recalled having seen growing by the side of the A90 close to the Cortes junction. After walking along the horribly litter strewn verge for some time she eventually found the strange plant emerging from the ground. The flowers appear before the leaves, bursting from large pale green buds like spiky pineapples. The flowers are not yet fully open so Grey Granite will have to brave the traffic again in a couple of weeks time to photograph them. Walking back along the road Grey Granite was delighted to find that there is a sort of track, possibly the line of the road before it was widened, running alongside the main road but hidden as one drives along. This is being gradually reclaimed as a wild place with gorse, brambles, birches and alders colonising the space. In places there are beautiful clumps of pristine snowdrops. Closer to Fraserburgh the Philorth woods are carpeted in great drifts of snowdrops.