View of Windmill Hill from Hinton Heights 11th January 2008

A welcome sign of spring, snowdrops in Catherington churchyard on 16th Jan 2008

New Year's Day was a cloudy but fairly mild day. On venturing into the countrysid we found few signs of Spring but there is always something to see. All the pictures were taken on 1st January 2008, the first three along Green Lane on the Horndean/Clanfield boundary. Sweet violets - Viola odorata were just beginning to flower and Butcher's Broom -Ruscus aculeatus some with berries and some with flowers. The last picture shows Winter Heliotrope -Petasites fragrans flowering, as it has for many years, on the verge around Merchistoun Hall.

The Horndean countryside is looking rather bare during late January but this is the time to notice the colourful lichens on many tree trunks especially oak and ash. A number will soon be presented on the biodiversity/lichens page. Several groups of primroses are now out in flower and lesser celandines have been flowering since early January in sheltered spots.

Recommend this page to a friend
Last edit: 11th Apr 2008 at 1:56pm (36 days ago)	Viewed 25 times since 29th Feb 2008, or 0 views per day