Not Just Snowdrops

Took a different route through the churchyard this morning and spotted



the Winter Aconites are well on their way to flowering.

A Colourful Day

It started when I noticed a few of my Dwarf Iris plants:



For our mid morning walk-about we cut trough the back of the churchyard.
As expected the Snowdrops were out under the trees:



and around the tombstones:



The main crop of Winter Aconite was putting on a good show:





The day ended with a glorious Sunset:

The Covers Come Off

It was in July last year when I wrote about the covers being erected over the village church roof as extensive repairs were about to begin. This morning I see they are finally being removed and the tons of scaffolding being dismantled:





That reminded me it was about time I had a look in the churchyard to see whether the Snowdrops and Winter Aconite had survived all the activity:





No problems there. In fact the Winter Aconite is looking better than it has for several years.

A Splash of Early Yellow

Yesterday afternoon brought bright Sunshine but a cold breeze kept the temperature down. A quick look across the fields showed a clear view of the nodding donkey at an oil well about 2km away:



It was a bit exposed there so we nipped back to have a look in the village churchyard where the Winter Aconite were showing well:





I am usually photographing these in mid February.

Spring is on its Way

Although the temp was about 3C with hazy sunlight I decided we would wend our way through the back of the village churchyard. Hopefully the Snowdrops and Winter Aconite would be in bloom and easier to photograph. I usually go on really sunny days but that tends to wash out the colours.

We were both well wrapped up as the gentle breeze made it feel more like 1C. As soon as we reached the back of the churchyard there were plenty of clumps of Snowdrops to be seen:









When we neared the front path the Winter Aconite patch came in to view:



Unfortunately they were already past their best:



But still great to see signs of plant life emerging as we near Spring.

All photos taken with the Nikon Coolpix S9050 and processed in iPhoto.

Heading Towards Spring

For once it has been a dry day with wall to wall Sunshine.

At least some of the local flora assumes Spring is round the corner.  It was January 16th when I saw the first Winter Aconite open its flower. Now the whole batch is in full bloom:





Also showing are some small clumps of Snowdrops in the Churchyard:



Surprisingly a few of the flowers are showing on my corkscrew Hazel bush:



These are easy to miss as the red part is no more than 4mm across. Unfortunately the few that have opened will be of no use to the plant as all the catkins are still tightly closed.

A Splash of Winter Colour

Walking through the churchyard a couple of days ago I spotted that the Winter Aconite are just beginning to flower:

A Walk through the Churchyard - Which Fungi?

For yesterday afternoon's walkies I thought we would try a route we haven't used for a couple of months. As the earth footpath is low lying it soon gets waterlogged but yesterday it was just a bit on the squelchy side but easily passable. Along this path are tall stumps of old Ash Trees which were cut down a few years ago and I noticed one was now being colonised by fungi. (Photos are not brilliant as I only had the mobile phone and even though it was a dull afternoon the highlights were over exposed)



After much searching through Google I am pretty sure the dark finger like growths are Dead Man's Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)but I am not at all sure about the orange growths. To me they could well be one of the many variations I found called Jack O'Lantern but which variety is still a mystery to me. There was also a clump of these growing on top of the stump.



Continuing through to the back of the churchyard there was a lovely patch of Snowdrops under a group of ancient trees,



There I stood for a while with Bobby patiently waiting as I scoured the branches and trunks for any signs of bird or animal life to no avail. The only creatures about were some fancy chickens which had escaped from the neighbouring house and a lone rabbit hopping about the grass.

As we walked through the churchyard we passed one of my favourite spots this time of year. Here a large group of Winter Aconite were showing their bright yellow flower buds which will be opening over the next week or so.



Twice in the past I have gathered seed from these plants. Each time they have germinated but as soon as they reached about an inch in height they wilted and died. I see it is possible to buy the bulbs of cultivated Winter Aconite so I must try that way to get my own display of one of my favourite late Winter / early Spring flowers.

A Bit more Colour

I can tell it's getting nearer to Spring without going out or even looking out of the window. I can hear the first lawn mower of the year droning away at a property opposite me. I would have thought the lawn would have been too damp, mine certainly is. Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Walking round the village with Bobby this morning I could see that many of the old houses now have lovely carpets of white Snowdrops. Under the shade of the trees in one part of the church yard is the usual crop of yellow Winter Aconite. They always make a cheerful sight.



Wandering round my garden yesterday I noticed a few Dwarf Iris were in full bloom.



Those along with several clumps of yellow Crocus and the hundreds of Snowdrops show that nature is awakening and there is better, well warmer at least, weather to come before too long. Also I notice that many of my dwarf trees show signs that the leaf buds are beginning to grow. For the first time this year I noticed that the greenhouse door is open. A few years ago I adapted an electric car aerial, along with a thermostat and some other electrical bits, to open and close the door automatically. The Sun is shining on the greenhouse and it must be must be getting near 18C in there for the system to operate.

Tit Nest Box

Virtually all of the wood shavings have now disappeared from the bottom of the box. All I can see is a few small fluffy feathers - whether shed by the bird or put in there on purpose I do not know.

Mid afternoon I spotted the Blue Tit make a brief visit to the nest box so it is still showing interest.