Spring Green

We went to a "Vietnamese" restaurant over the border in Czech Republic for lunch and I photographed these chestnut trees nearby with their fresh spring growth. Later we walked through the forest and along the oak tree alley to our friends place for afternoon tea. The difference is striking (see extra). OK, they are different trees but you get the idea. Our chestnut trees are sprouting but nowhere near the Czech ones. Spring in our region is about 2 weeks behind the rest of Austria and it seemed to be a return to winter today. We had powder snow overnight and this morning and the wind was icy.
I had a bit of a blip failure today as we spotted the three deer at the edge of the forest again but it was quite dark and they were too far away. Walking back home Hubby spotted a black squirrel that was perched on a branch in such a good spot to photograph. By the time I had pointed the camera a car sped up the forest road and the squirrel darted up the tree. Then closer to home we peeked behind the little door in a neighbours wall to see if the birds were nesting. On the way there we spotted a little blue head nestled down but this time it was gone and we could see 2 or 3 tiny white eggs. Last year I watched the birds dart in and out of the tiny slit above the door to feed the chicks but only managed a blurry shot of a shadow of the tail feathers. Will have to settle down with my tripod a safe distance away one day.