Wood Spurge

After a day divided between working at the computer on the South Lincolnshire Rare Plant Register and getting on with more gardening, it was good to get out for a late afternoon walk to Castor Hanglands, which is now beginning to dry up after the very wet winter, though I did still mange to find some mud! I had a long chat with another lady, who had driven out from nearby Bretton. Like me, she didn't feel that her local open space was safe to visit, being overfull of people not observing proper social distancing.

The display of Marsh Marigolds round the ponds was stunning, and in the woods the yellow-green flowers of Wood Spurge shone out against the Bluebells. The ride edges were studded with the starry white flowers of Greater Stitchwort, contrasting nicely with the purples of Bugle, Common Dog-violet and Ground Ivy. I was pleased to spot the first new growth of Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea, a very local species of wood margins and ride edges. I had hoped to hear a Nightingale or Cuckoo, both of which have been reported locally, but the only spring migrants I heard were Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap.