Dear Readers, I rather liked the way that the contrails from the aeroplanes above the cemetery on Saturday echoed the Scottish flag flying above one of the graves. It is especially poignant as St Andrew is the patron saint not only of Scotland, but also of Ukraine. May they prevail.
The walk this week was such a contrast to the wet and windy weather of my last jaunt, but there is still tree damage. One of the Cedars of Lebanon in the woodland graveyard area has lost its head completely.
The little Hinoki cypress, which in truth has been looking very sad for a couple of years, has been blown over completely.
But elsewhere the cherry-plums and cherry-crabs are reaching peak flowering, and very pretty they look too.
Now, something that’s always fascinated me is that some creature seems to dismantle the floral tributes that are left after the cremation ceremonies. I have been blaming the magpies, who often hang around looking shifty.
But it appears that on this occasion I have been very unfair, because look at this little devil, caught in the act.
This one obviously has a taste for chrysanthemums, and was having great fun with this flower. He or she was sitting so still that if my husband hadn’t pointed him out, I’d never have noticed.
And of course a walk around the cemetery wouldn’t be complete without my noting the progress of the spring ephemerals. I’m noticing a few more primroses…
And although I don’t think it’s been a bumper year for lesser celandine, there was a fine show on Saturday.
It won’t be long until the cow parsley sends up its white flowers, but for now I’m enjoying those fine, feathery leaves.
And it’s the last shout for the crocuses, but none the less pretty for all that.
And I am seeing the bluebell leaves become more and more prominent as the weeks go past. I love the changing of the guard at this time of year. And, I heard and saw a treecreeper, though I didn’t manage to get a photo for you this time. So here’s one that I managed to photograph in Coldfall Wood a few years ago. These are not uncommon birds, but they are very shy and secretive, so spotting one is always a delight.
Treecreeper
What a delightfully upbeat post!
‘The changing of the guard’ is a nice phrase to use. It is sad about the downed trees especially as they won’t be replaced as burial space is seen as more important. Understandably.
True. I do wonder if they’re planning to put graves in the ‘field’ where the beehives are – it seems very poorly drained, so it doesn’t seem like a great choice…
Our cemetery is also full of downed trees, but we’re still on snowdrops, lots and lots of them, looking lovely.
I love the way that the snowdrops spread over time, they are so lovely to see….
There is always something interesting going on! We’ve had a lovely sunny day here too, but, instead of walking, we went to the swimming pool. Afterwards, in the swimming pool parking lot, I watched 3 parakeets very busy on a catalpa tree, they were eating the seeds on the tree, discarding the empty beanpods afterwards. Because the trees were small, I could watch the birds at close range. They are skillful creatures….they dropped some of the seeds, too, though…
( Took a disappointing video with my phone).
Parakeets are so adaptable, they seem to be interested in everything that could possibly be food!
Great photos – especially that first one. Well spotted! Let’s hope sense prevails in the coming days…