It was possible to traverse across very muddy tracks as the ground was still frozen hard although the woods were largely free of frost.  Two deer scuttled across the path while pheasants gave off alarm calls and a woodpecker tapped on a tree.   I remembered the colourful moths and butterflies beside the path in the summer and thought of the overwintering larvae and pupae which are hidden in the undergrowth.  In many ways the last ten months have flown by so perhaps it won’t seem long before our world seems brighter.