April 2003

3rd April

This is the Yellow Archangel. The silvery leaves point to this being an escape, rather than indigenous:

4th April

This Butterbur supposedly gets its name from the historical practice of using its large leaves for wrapping butter.

We had a little bit of dew and fog this morning - it soon brought out the snails. Nice to see two species together.

And here's a close-up of some of the dew:-

This is the Bilberry - I'm looking forward to the crop in Autumn.

  This spiders web was just visible over an old rabbit hole

9th April

The Bugle has always been known as a healing plant:

16th April

The Speckled Wood butterfly posed briefly for me.

The Cow Parsley has been in leaf for months, and has just started to flower

This Bush Vetch has been promising to flower for weeks.

19th April

The Yellow Pimpernel has tiny flowers only 1/2"across:-

The Marsh Marigold has arrived. Soon the whole area will be a carpet of yellow,

This copper coloured fly landed just as I was preparing to photograph a butterfly

The Green-Veined White has suddenly appeared in very large numbers.

I've seen quite a few Orange Tips this week, but they are very energetic, and I haven't got within 4 feet of one before it's flown off. Patience will be my main ally, I think.

The Blackthorn will provide Sloe Berries later in the year. It's only now, when it flowers, that I realise how much Blackthorn is around us.

21st April

The Ivy Leaved Toad Flax grows on walls:

25th April

It was very windy, today, and this Orange Tip (male) was reluctant to move off.

This very tall (18") buttercup usually grows near water.

The uncurling stalk of bracken always looks good:

30th April

Herb Robert was long seen as a medicinal plant.

This Creeping Tormentil, or Cinquefoil grows facing the sun:-

The Ribwort kept me amused as a child. They can be used for competitions where you try to knock the heads off each other's stalks, or you can bend them into a bow and fire the head.

The Bluebell grows on banks, in large clusters

I guess that's it for April - quite a productive month.

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