orange things

last night's fiery sunset, and some fresh scarlet elf cups from this morning's walk. People are saying that this Spring will be very exuberant because the cold has delayed most plants and everything will come into flower at once. Elf cups appear in late winter and early Spring. Tomorrow we might go in search of the purple toothwort

a brown time

one of the stranger consequences of this long cold dry period is that everything has turned a light brown. Normally at this time of year (and all year) Cornwall is a rich vivid green. But no grass is growing yet, and the landscape looks as if Nature has taken to painting in watercolours. The sun is still quite low in the sky and in the morning and evening the world around us has taken on a novel hue.

For the last couple of weeks a pair of jackdaws have taken to sitting in a fir tree overlooking our garden. One of them is making a sound like a creaking branch or a very rough purr. I can't find any reference to this call but I assume it is a love poem. They are very interesting birds.

the road to Down House

the little lane down to Down House is once again full of colour, and the first Spring daffodils are coming into flower with the snowdrops and crocuses

please take me for a walk

Some creatures have started their work for the year. Some are just lounging about looking pathetic

a thicket of thorns

the male wrens are chirping away very vigorously, and are often very hard to see in the hedges and thickets. As the link says they have very loud voices for such diminutive birds. I also like the idea (probably due to my lack of classical education) that they are the cave dwellers' cave dweller.

Seaton

it has been a very sunny but chilly day. For a change we went for a walk at Seaton. There was not much to see just yet but it is a very pretty wooded valley and a popular place to walk the dogs on a Sunday morning. And every one was happy and smiling.