I see from photos in the south of England that Daffodils and Snowdrops are out in bloom and though things in the garden are starting to move I would not dare say that Spring is here in the Cairngorms National Park, but signs of encouragement are showing.
Firstly let us admire the plants that have given us a smile throughout the Winter(well except when they were covered in the white “stuff).
3rd.
These three have been a great addition to the dull Winter colour.
Now small signs of life heading (hopefully towards Spring.
Snowdrops poking through the soil and blooms in sight.
White Heather that will soon be out.
Azaleas slowly coming into bud.
Clematis surrounded by dead stems and leaves showing some movement.
Even a few of our Daffs are trying hard to come up.
But a great find is the fact that there was a Thrushes nest well hidden in one of our shrubs and only came visible when the plant lost it’s leaves.
12th.
Went down to Dunmore Loch to see if the water was still frozen, all clear but a couple of trees are down, but found a couple of very unwanted visitors on the water, a pair of Cormorants, which no doubt had been feeding on the smaller fish in the Loch. Allowed them to stay long enough for me to get these two shots of one drying out on one of our platforms, before it got hastily frightened off, hopefully never to return.
13th.
What a difference ten days of good weather makes, in the entry above on the third I showed you the Snowdrops peeping through. Now look today there they are in full bloom and making you smile every time you see them.
Also looking great are a few Primroses adding some most welcome colour to the garden.
15th.
Wow what a surprise, my eagle eyed wife spotted this in the field three hundred yards from the house. The first time since we have lived here that Mr (I think it is a dog) Fox has been seen by either of us this close to the house. The first shot it was sitting eating a mouse or vole, that happened while I was setting up my camera, the second shot was when I whistled, it stood up and was looking for me. He was limping on one of his front legs as it walked away, so it did have some sort of injury.
16th.
Just to finish off this very optimistic blog, I would like to quote a statement about Scottish seasons that I found on the internet.
The order is:-
Winter
Fools Spring
Second Winter.
Spring of Deception.
Third Winter.
Actual Spring.
Summer (maybe)
False Autumn.
Second Summer.
Actual Autumn.
Early Winter. (repeat)