The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely to show off. Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off – and they are nearly always doing it.
― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
As sure as the weather changes I find myself spending more and more time out of doors, finding any excuse to be outside when the sun is shining and get rather more than enthused over the changes I can see happening in the natural world, meaning Spring is but a slight step away now.
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- Juice Trump Hill
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- Juice Trump Hill
Weather
This week has been dry. No rain showers what so ever. We had one morning of frost, and one morning of mist but apart from that it’s been days of either partly cloudy skies or sunny intervals. The mid afternoon temps have reached anything between 9 and 16 degrees C. But once the peak has been reached the temperatures soon decrease and get cold until the following afternoon.
It’s certainly been nice this week to pull the curtains apart and find the sunshine.
Habitats
I’ve spent a lot of time in the garden again this week, as the evenings draw out.
I also went on a beautiful countryside walk on Sunday around Belchford in the Lincolnshire Wolds. It was a slightly stressful walk because what should have been a 4.5 mile walk turned into a 6.5 walk. This was due to me not carrying a proper map.
You’d think the walk leaflet from Lincs Wolds Organisation would be simple enough to follow. Alas something went array and the walk went slightly astray. The walk included woods, scrub and farming land.
Birds
I know this probably sounds dreadfully ignorant but I discovered on Sunday, on the country walk, the bird that makes the most wonderful sound upon any country walk I’ve ever enjoyed. The beautiful chirping that emanates the very air as I walk through a field comes from a Skylark!
Why didn’t I know this? So many years I have admired the tune of this bird. Stopped in mid walk on many an occasion just to hear more because it’s so wonderful. I’ve never caught more than a glimpse of the bird, so I’ve never been able to identify it but now I know I’m going to try and make it my mission to get a photograph of one. I’m so happy to have found the correct name to a beautiful song.
At home the bird table and feeders are still very busy. No new species and I haven’t seen the wren again since I wrote about it last month but I keep looking in hope.
Trees and flowers
There is so much activity starting to happen in this area now, it’s like a 100 theater shows going on at once. Blossom on the cherry trees, daffodils on the verges, daisies in the grass. It’s all go now. Winter is a distant memory while everything shows new growth.
I did photograph a new wild flower by the side of a road today. It looked almost like a viola and in fact was a Common Dog Violet, which was a nice find.
Mammals
No mammals this week apart from the usual resident squirrel and a very tired JRT after her long walk.