A half mile from home

The UK has just enjoyed its warmest March on record and we are basking in wonderful Spring sunshine at present as well. When you hear records like this announced on the radio I always wonder who first started recording these things and why but there are many individuals who record the changing of the seasons in their gardens or a given territory year on year. It has made me think about the changes within my own vicinity , so when I went on my regular walk away from the house today (it is that little speck at the top of the road) I decided to take my camera and record the things I could see growing within half a mile from the house heading in one direction only. I have been noticing things in the past couple of weeks but having a camera in my hand made me really look.

There is lots of Arum maculatum around - commonly known as Lords and Ladies, Jack-in-the-Pulpit or Cuckoo Pint. I shall be waiting to see those familiar spathes in a few weeks time.

...but there were also a few marbled leaves of Arum italicum to be seen, more often found in gardens, as well as...... Wild Grape hyacinth

...and lots of garlic mustard. Also known as Jack-in-the-hedge this is the staple plant that the Orange Tip butterfly lays its eggs on so it was no surprise to see a few of them flying around, along with lots of bumble bees and a few honey bees too. If you pick the leaves of this before the flowers come it is a great addition to a salad - very peppery and fresh on the palette.

There was a host of emerging fern fronds to be seen. I love these Hart's Tongue ferns

Look at their fuzzy little shields coming into life and compare them to the tightly furled up crozier of this tough old bracken. Look at the mass of wood anemones surrounding the road either side. They are stunning en masse like this but instead of looking down, I looked up at all the hawthorn blossom that is around. When you see the flowers up close they look just like delicate cherry blossom to me - so beautiful! Within my half a mile walk I also saw the new spears of wild flag iris leaves, wood violets, emerging bluebells, hundreds of lesser celandines and dandelions, wild garlic and wild strawberries coming through, mare's tails, sweet woodruff, herb robert, ribbed plantain, cow parsley and giant hogweed getting ready to launch into that sudden growth spurt it does in early May. I heard the woodpecker drilling away in the distance and saw and heard a blackcap singing its beautiful heart out.

Sadly I also noticed lots of litter and will need to take a black bag out with me in the next few days. Tell me why car drivers have to throw their rubbish out of their cars as they drive up through country lanes? It is probably not just reserved for country lanes though. I think litter is a scourge anywhere these days but it won't dampen my mood. I am going to try and record my little half a mile strip every month this year and make my own record to revisit in 2012. It will be fascinating to keep my own local record of the changes of the seasons.

Regular followers will know this is something I have done for many years with regard to the return of the swallows to their nesting site in my garden. For the past four out of five years they've returned on the same calendar date and you've always come up trumps and let me know when returning swallows have been sighted around you. Well, we have nothing yet but our local paper has recorded sightings in a village about 3 miles away. I wonder if they will come earlier this year. I'd love to know what's happening in your patch too!