Not all plants are thriving this spring. The pink horse chestnut by the side of the old railway track is looking very depressed & poorly, its candles scant & petals mostly brown.
Perhaps it just needs more water. This last week we have had our first rain for a month. I am grateful that it has been quite light & intermittent, & hope that will actually work out better all round by soaking well into the earth, not just rushing downhill over parched ground in a race to the sea.
The fire brigade have been busy with grass fires, of which we had the first even before Easter, though thankfully I haven’t heard of any moorland fires yet.
This spring is also notable for the large numbers of birds – small ones, which I am unable to identify. They are most noticeable when you walk past a stand of trees, where they can be seen darting around under or between the lowest branches.
