Yesterday’s visit was just what I needed for some emotional healing. It was a very significant period the two days before and I was feeling pretty low. A few hours in the sunny woodland, observing, doing a few small jobs and taking in the beauty of it all, works wonders for me. This stunning Peacock butterfly landed right in front of me, taking nectar from the bluebells and wood anenomes.

The wild garlic is just about to flower and I found a recipe for pickling the buds. I collected a tub of them and will have a go. They are milder than the leaves and I tried a few unpickled ones on my salad today and they were nice. Once pickled, I guess they would go nice in pastas, on pizzas, salads etc. It will take a couple of weeks to make. I will report back. I intend trying some with balsamic and some with apple cider vinegars.

There were hundreds of hoverflies around. Many leaves were covered in honeydew sap from greenflies and I think that’s what was attracting them. I love those little guys and how they sometimes seem to check me out. I captured this one as it was about to land.

This unusual growth is a puzzle. It’s on a crab apple tree I planted ten years ago. No others trees have done this. I don’t think it’s a disease as such, just some genetic anomaly.

Well that’s about it for this post. Get out into some woods and enjoy the spring.