Celandine carpet

It's been a bit of an up and down sort of day. Chris was picked up at 8am this morning by Lizzy's Dad, and flew out of Heathrow at about 2pm. He should be touching down at Pu Dong (Shanghai) airport in a couple of hours. After all the excitement and busyness of the last couple of days, I felt decidedly flat when he'd gone.

I then experienced a short period of panic! I love spring - and spend much of the winter waiting for it to happen. But as an ecologist it signals the start of the busiest four months of the year, and as a home-educator I also have to get the boys through several GCSE's, which rather unhelpfully happen in May and June. I always come to a point where I wonder how I'll manage to cope - I always have before, and I know I will again, because I thrive on a challenge! Sometimes it's a bit scary though and at times I may have to ease off on Blipfoto, especially with the commenting. I hope you'll all forgive me!!

After dropping Pete off at a site he was surveying, I decided to take a couple of hours out to wander round one of the local woods with the dogs to regain my equilibrium. It couldn't have been a more perfect spring day - the wood was carpeted with celandines and anemones, with the first few bluebells showing the promise of things to come. The bird song was rich and varied and I spent some time watching a nuthatch in the top of an oak, warning off all comers with an amazingly fluty call.

I saw one or two other people in the wood, including an old friend who was photographing toothwort for Kew Gardens, as part of a project to produce a wildflower identification app for mobile phones! However, most of the time I was alone, and I realised that there is no better place to be than in an English woodland in spring - the whole experience filled me with peace and joy.

PS I really couldn't fathom last night's film. I think I was really too tired to concentrate on it, and just found it boring. However, Pete and Alex found it 'interesting' so perhaps I just have too short an attention span. I ended up looking at Blipfoto on the laptop!

PPS Both of the chickens are much better - they had an hour or so out in the sunshine and looked almost their normal selves!!

Alternative photos:

Toothwort

Sunlight through the chestnut

Wood anemones