English (or rather Welsh?) Bluebells Blooming

Now Bluebells are blooming here and there in the UK.  Here, in the South Wales, in a small woodland near by our house, the bluebells have just started blooming.  English Bluebells, well, I have to correct to call them, especially the ones growing native here in Wales, 'Welsh Bluebells'.  A friendly gentleman with a friendly dog told about this to my friend and me on a footpath in one of the woodlands about a year ago.  And, I ran into him this week again, with his dog on a different footpath.  'We might have met around here before?'

I walked in the woodland with a hill after having said 'See you again soon!' when he went along outside the woodland.  On the hill top and on the slope they have just started blooming in the beech wood.  What I was pleased was that there were the white ones exactly the same place I found the last spring!  I would try to find odd ones, white milk vetches (Japanese: Genge), which have usually pink petals, four-leaf clovers and such as a young child.

In fact, the pretty white flowers of wood anemones started blooming before the bluebells in the early spring.  Unlike their fragile appearance they are actually strong.  They are thriving in the whole woodland.  I thought of early dog violet in our front garden, which scattered everywhere in a few years and hard to get rid of...  Nevertheless, I can't help liking both of them.

Outside the woodland (or, correctly between woodlands) the fields were freshly ploughed, ready for seeding, maybe wheat or barley, maybe maize; I'll see in the summer what will be.  It is hard to recognise in the picture, but a tractor was resting at the corner of a field.  A farmer might have been having his/her lunch in it right now, or went home for lunch.  It will be the busiest season for them.

Paper Cut: Early Spring Woodland

It's not early spring more, almost the early summer is coming.  But here is a scent of the early spring.

The woodland protected the plants from the harsh weather in the last winter, though, it was mild and wet.  The flowers were blooming here and there on the sunny spots around the woodland.  The wild garlic were showing their young soft leaves from the ground with the subtle but distinctive scent in the beech woodland.  Animals were enjoying the beginning of the lively season.

Early Spring Woodland 2014

(A3, from original paper cut, processed with GIMP)

Flourishing Spring in April!

After the foggy days the summer time began on the last Sunday.  We feel the evenings are brighter and longer.  The buds are growing everyday which make the trees greener, and spring flowers are splendid  everywhere.  I enjoy walking in my town, watching spring flowers like vibrant yellow forsythia, smelling the scent of magnolia.

The weather hasn't been very good, but I took a chance for a walk yesterday in the early evening as the blue sky emerged between thick grey the late afternoon.  It was a sunny pleasant evening.  There were some people walking leisurely without thick coat, who had the same idea like me in the meadow.  Birds, probably black birds, robins, blue tits and possibly skylarks, were chirping somewhere I couldn't see.  Other than that, it was a calm pleasant evening.

Blackthorn blossoms

The white flowers of blackthorn (sloe is better known) were full in bloom now.  I feel the spring has come when seeing them in fields.

Alexanders

The young leaves of carrot families are thriving vigorously.  Their fresh green colour brightens the smokey colour of the ground.  I always wanted to know one of them; the plants, above, which looks like celery, is Alexanders (smyrnium olusatrum).  The shiny light green stems attracted me to pick, but I resisted my temptation. (It is edible and I am a keen forager.)

Hazel

Hazel's green buds are growing and I could see their fine pleated young leaves stretching.  In a week their branches must be covered with pretty bright green pleated leaves.

In the end of my evening walk, around half past six, I reached at a farm.  Horses were grazing in the field in the evening sun, next to the farm.  Tranquil warm evening in the beginning of April.