Pear blossom

It was a beautiful day, and in the orchard the pear blossom is now open, with pink stamens vivid in the sunshine, and it was lovely to spend time there with the camera. The extra is a quick attempt at a black and white edit of the willow thicket at the bottom of the orchard, created when three large willow trees were sadly uprooted and felled by our first big winter storm here, on Christmas Eve 2013. Our first thought, in the sadness at the loss of both the willows and a huge poplar, was to clear them when time and weather permitted, but by spring it was clear that the fallen trunks still had enough root in the ground to be sprouting new, vertical shoots. We watched and waited, and over the years a whole little ecosystem has developed in this corner, with a shady undergrowth of wild flowers and nettles. I've not found it easy to photograph well, but want to try to record its progress better.

I also managed to enjoy a peaceful coffee on the patio, browsing my beautiful new book of Michael Kenna tree photographs, and later I went with J and the nurses for a walk round the village, during which I met a friend from my former yoga class and P's ukelele group who I hadn't seen for many months; it was nice to chat as we walked, and feels good to be rediscovering these everyday pleasures.