The beauty of decay...

After yesterday's sunshine and beautiful sunset, we had disappointingly grey skies today. But the cold wind has dropped, the air smells of spring and mornings and evenings are filled with birdsong.

Another morning sat at the computer report writing meant that I was ready for a lunchtime walk. Pete came with Rosie and me, and persuaded me to do the circular walk from Castor Station to Wansford Station, about twice as long as I'd been planning. Much of this stretch of the valley has been under water for most of the winter, but although there were some soggy spots, it's drying out nicely now. There wasn't much wildlife around, and I took very few photographs, but I loved the soft pinks and blues of this derelict railway goods van, perhaps waiting to be restored.

Tomorrow I shall be going out on my first field survey of the season, an emergency job not too far from Peterborough. It'll be interesting to see how many species I record, as it's probably the worst time of the year to be surveying. All of last year's seed heads have succumbed to the winter, and the cold spring means that nothing much has started growing - certainly a bit of a challenge!