Where have all the flowers gone?

Last year I 'blipped' Bracken on this same path. It was quite a different scene then when the woodland floor was carpeted with bluebells.
It seemed like a good thing to do this morning, take a walk in the Bluebell Wood. I thought the ground would be quite firm as the path is shaded - wrong! Unfortunately the soft snow was only covering the deep ruts made by vehicles (no idea what or why) that are full of muddy water and the ice on the uphill slopes was hazardous. Progress was slow and tedious, I was glad I had my wellies on as I disappeared into said ruts several times. Bracken is seen waiting patiently while we pick our way around one of the many difficult sections of the path and also trying to avoid very prickly shrubs at the edges. I'd like to say it was fun but it wasn't much! However, it was all good exercise and legs especially were getting a good workout slip sliding on ice and mud.
It's good to see the temperatures coming up though and there was a glimmer of weak sunshine earlier. Things are looking up.
The meat is roasting, several pans of vegetables prepared - time for more piano practice with a pre-prandial glass of red to hand, could improve the playing!