Spring Greens

I took this photo on my phone while out jogging in the rain this morning. I was attracted by the fresh bright greens of the leaves at this time of year, which seemed to be enhanced by the weather conditions. The colours really were as bright as they look in the photo.

This lovely bit of track runs across the top of what used to be a colliery spoil heap - it's amazing how well nature has managed to claim it back.  My 92-year-old father tells me that years ago, when it was in use, it used to glow in the dark. I was sceptical about this but looked up the topic on wikipedia and found that spontaneous subterranean combustion of residual hydrocarbons in colliery spoil heaps was not that usual and could be difficult to control. Apparently there was quite a strong sulphur smell if one went too close to this one. My Dad says that there was a news item years ago of a dumper truck driver having fallen into a hole in this heap; he sustained quite severe burns.