late opening

well, something is trying to get out and pretend it's Spring. And what about this for an amazing discovery in the parish (link to Old School News, Stoke Climsland, April 2013). Can't get enough of old bones myself.

picked clean

this is the skull and upper jaw of a female fallow deer. The teeth are incredibly sharp, just right for chewing bark off trees. Harriet found this trophy and then demolished it.

Spring clean

Female blackbird taking a bath. Blackbirds seem to be particularly keen on washing their feathers.

light in the lanes

Storm clouds ahead on a sunny evening. We are lingering somewhere between Winter and Spring. When Spring finally comes it is going to be short and very energetic and everything will be out at the same time, more like North America than our usual languid season.

squeezed out

One indignant goldfinch unable to get to the nyger seed feeder because of a pair of hungry bullfinches. This may be the same pair who bred successfully somewhere in the garden last year

camellia time

much later than some years but about the same time as last year the camellia is a welcome sign that the plants are stirring.