Easter Sunshine

What a fantastic week it has been, lots of sunshine, blue skies and warm weather, everything really seems to have got going now. The hedgerows are full of wildflowers with patches of Primroses and Cowslips, Red Campion and white Stitchwort flowers, glossy Wild Arum and lots of lovely cheerful Dandelions. By the roadsides there are swathes of tall lime green leaved garlic mustard with its little white flowers so attractive to the orange tip butterflies zooming around at the moment. Driving to Bolton by Bowland the air is full of the scent of the Wild Garlic that carpets the woodland floor here and will probably flower in the next week or two along with the Bluebells. In the hedges, Crab Apples and Bird Cherries are flowering, though sadly the Blackthorn is almost over now, but at least the Hawthorns are just about to flower, whilst in the moist drainage ditches there are masses of golden Marsh Marigold flowers. The birds are all busy nesting and getting really territorial now. Gone are the large flocks of Goldfinches that used to visit, instead we seem to have one pair who guard the bird table fiercely for such tiny birds. On Saturday I watched a Blue Tit plucking an old wooly jumper on the washing line. I picked up some wool in the fields and put it out for it but it still prefers the jumper.

Primroses, Gisburn

Cowslips, Stocks Reservoir

Marsh Marigolds, Gisburn

Blue Tit plucking my jumper!