Nature, yellow in petal and feather

Around this time of year I get to thinking:

1. Jeez, still two months to go before dragonfly season;

2. Will Winter never end?;

3. I haven't seen any Coltsfoot yet.

There's not much I can do about the first two items on that list, other than moving south. Whilst in another time and place, I regularly used to confuse myself with Coltsfoot flowering dates, seemingly always presuming it to be sooner than it actually is. In fact, one year, I sat down and looked back through that particular blog and made a spreadsheet of the first flowering dates I had recorded for Coltsfoot in Orkney. The trend was clearly mid-March, so here I am, bang on cue.

Having moved into a new home only last Summer, and this being our first Spring here, we weren't sure where we would find any Coltsfoot in flower. The setting is more urban, fringing on the rural, but Megan did find some at the beginning of March whilst recceing a walk along the coast about three miles from home. Meantime I had seen the grand total of none.

Yesterday was an absolutely lovely day, with sunshine, a slight breeze and blue skies. I was busy preparing my van to be returned to a leasing company, removing the roof rack and some internal shelving. Megan was engrossed with sitting in a camping chair in the sun, handily pointing out raptors as they flew by. This list included a Buzzard, two Hen Harriers and a Sparrowhawk. Having got the roof rack off the van, I was wondering where to put it, as the shed was already full of stuff, plus the contents of the van. In the end, I chucked it behind the shed, onto an area we rarely go as it is north-facing and is covered in rubble and gravel, a consequence of the house renovation by a builder last year. This is also where our boundary meets the building plots which are adjacent to us, another reason for ignoring the area until that building work is complete.

So imagine my astonishment when I stood up from moving the roof rack and spied a couple of clumps of colour just beyond the shadow of the shed. I called Megan from her raptorial raptures so that she could share the joy.

Coltsfoot! On site!

[Happy sigh]

Later that afternoon, we wandered along a nearby burn, finding plenty of Primroses, Lesser Celandines and Marsh Marigolds. Plus a bonus Grey Wagtail (which managed to keep to the yellow theme).

Perhaps not the end of Winter, but definitely a step closer to Summer.