We have gone from being decorated by blossom:

22nd April



...to a state of almost overwhelming greenness. The hedgerows are looking very dense this year, and are peppered here and there with cow parsley.



The foilage is so thick on the beeches above the bluebells now that spotting the birds that sing and whistle overhead is by no means easy - it's almost like being blindfold in an aviary



The green shine to everything is pretty to look at, but it does bring its problems. I'm in danger of losing foxes in the long grass!



Fortunately for the magpies, there are some more open patches.



This fox was doing what I can only describe as browsing - wandering erratically around the meadow, listening and sniffing, no doubt hoping to come across a rodent or two.







Some signs of the progression of the season are more domestic - the luckier local horses and ponies have now been fitted out with eye protection to keep the flies at bay I have to express some apprehension that the horseflies will seek me out as a food source instead



Foxes have an easy time of things in some respects. Many mammals and birds have to travel huge distances between summer and winter to find the best grazing or breeding grounds, but foxes manage to make do with the same small territory whatever the time of year. It's only a few weeks since I photographed winter's fox in the field adjacent to this one. The year is fast pressing on