Nature at its best!

Spring flowers

 

Wood anenomes, dandylions, dog violets, primroses, cuckoo flower all out in the woods - a bit behind compared to the same time in 2010 (below) but looking beautiful.

Spring oats are coming through

Only three weeks after planting the rows of spring oats are visible - winter wheat planted in February still very sluggish ....

May podcast

Start of spring??

Spring flowers

Spring is coming to the farm and the flowers are beginning to bloom.

More spring flowers

Spring flowers

Spring flowers in the woodland, anenomes, dog violets and primroses - just beautiful!

Spring is a little behind this year

At the start of April last year the tulips and daffodils were in full bloom. This year they are a little behind. Check out the difference!

Chicks are hatching!

We found some empty eggs on the ground in the wood - evidence that this years chicks are hatching!

Wood comes back to life

We have been working on restoring our ancient woodland. This is a long, slow job, but each year we see more spring flowers which gives us hope and inspiration. It is amazing to think that the seeds have lain in the ground for decades waiting for the right conditions to germinate. We probably won't see the full benefits in our lifetime, but it makes our time as custodians of the farm special to think that we are making a difference. Check out the photos.

Spring flowers and blossom

The farm is abundant with spring flowers and blossom - so beautiful.

Spring is coming

In my walks on the farm over the last week there are so many signs of Spring being just around the corner - the trees are starting to bud with leaves, we have two brave dafodils out on the drive and I found one equally brave primrose brightening up the wood. It is such a time of renewal and it is great to be so close to nature at this time of year.

All quiet on the farm

Well all is quiet on the farm, we are waiting for everything to start to grow. We have been planning our farm walks for 2009 - more details later in the year and the days are really starting to extend now. Spring is coming!!

The wheat is growing

The wheat that was planted in the autumn is growing in the fields. With some warmth and spring sunshine it will be well on track!

Spring is finally coming

This week the hedges are starting to thicken up and spring finally feels like it is coming. We had a lovely walk after mothers day lunch and enjoyed the natural renewal of the farm as we look forward to another year. The gales had had their impact in the wood with the upper limbs of some trees torn off and others uprooted. Another storm is due this week. Hopefully it won't do too much damage.

The lambs are here!

Well the lambs are here! The children and I stopped to take this photo last week of the ewes and lambs in one of our neighbours fields. Herefordshire is a beautiful county with rolling hills and it is fantastic to see the lambs gambling in the fields. Sheep farmers are facing a touch time with all the restrictions due to bluetongue and the foot and mouth outbreak last year - but some farmers have lived in hope of better times and begun the cycle again!

The first hints of spring

On Sunday we went for a walk in the lovely warm February sunshine and there are the first hints of spring in the air. The days are definitely getting longer and this will wake up nature again. I took some photographs as we walked and here they are - snowdrops, catkins and the first buds of spring. It is wonderful to know that the growing cycle has begun for another year.

Flooded again and longing for spring

Well, the River Frome has burst its back again - flood water everywhere in the valley and there seems no end to the rain. The warm hot spring last year now seems a long time ago. For those that have forgotten follow the link to the BBC website for a refresher on those balmy days. I cheered myself up a lot! I haven't posted any more photographs because at the moment the farm doesn't look as though much has changed over the last few weeks - a bit of sunshine and it will be a different story. The daffodils are peeking through on the drive though - I will take some photos when they are in bloom - the promise of spring.

Arctic spring

Nature published an article yesterday that said that the Arctic spring has moved 14 days earlier in a decade! For someone who loves nature, that is an amazing statistic, but is it a clear sign of global warming?

Its amazing to think around a thousand years ago Eric the Red brought the Vikings to live on Greenland, where they lived happily by and large, until there was a climate reversal and a great cooling three hundred or so years later.

The climate is a fascinating if hugely complicated subject and I find as much conflicting information as I find complimentary on the issues surrounding climate change. Time will tell!