Love Is in the Air.

Love is in the air, spring is just around the corner. The weather seems to be more like normal so far for this month but whatever the weather is life has just begun again.

The Snowdrops have been nodding their dainty little heads in the gardens and hedgerows for several weeks now, Catkins and Pussy willows are in flower and the Crocus are all in flower, Daffodils also are bursting into bloom as I speak

A Host of Golden Daffodils.

Snowdrops at Hodsock Priory.

Hazel Catkins.

Pussy Willows.

and I am busy in my garden as new shoots in the perennial flower bed are pushing their way through.
The Goat Willow or Pussy Willow (Salix caprea) as it is commonly called was believed by the Druids to have healing properties the Druids called it "sunshine fire" because it could turn from Silver to Gold, they believed that it had a natural alchemy to be able to do this. The natural healing qualities of the willow are well known. One cure for "insomnia" was to put a piece of wood from a willow under your pillow and it will help you to fall asleep.

                                                             Looking For Signs Of Spring.
These are just a few of the signs of spring, on the 20^th of this month it will be the Vernal Equinox the first official day of Spring and as the time progresses we hopefully will see warmer weather arrive.

I love to get out and about in the countryside to see all the woodlands, hedgerows, listen to the birds singing their heads off, the Dawn Chorus is much better heard away from the town in the countryside.

The Rooks here have been busy since early February. They can now be seen in their nests preparing to lay.

The Rookery near where I live is alive with activity as the birds busy themselves repairing old nests and making new ones, I noticed that some birds are already sitting in their nests and either laying their eggs or even sitting on them as they start laying early March and the incubation period is a short one 16 to 18 days so by early April there will be young ones in the nests and the Rookery will become a very noisy busy hive of activity.

Ducks Nest. (very hard to spot.)

Mother and Ducklings.

Ducks have been pairing since October / November and have started treading while getting on with their nest building and so they to will be sitting eggs very soon. They nearly always nest near water but I have found nests over a couple of miles away from the nearest pond or river. They will often nest in trees and when I was a gamekeeper we often collected eggs for the incubator from a Christmas tree plantation where we would find their nests hidden under the the trees in thick cover, the nearest water was the Canal which was nearly a mile away.

 Rabbits and Hares are also busy, I have seen several Hares chasing around the fields and having their boxing matches, Rabbits have been bucking with their tell tale signs of their amorous activities to be seen around the warren.

bucking with their tell tale signs of their amorous activities to be seen around the warren.

Hares Boxing.

I have not found any Frogspawn yet, last year my pond had some in it quite early but I did find some spawn of the Toad on the banks of a pool the other day.

Frog Spawn.

 As spring moves on and Summer (if we have one arrives) we shall soon see Lambs gambolling around the fields, Fox cubs at play and the rest of the countryside will have turned into a pastel of colours as the various trees in our countryside burst into flower and leaf.

                                Yes spring is upon us love is in the air, enjoy it while you can.