Cuckooflower

After the extreme temperatures yesterday, today was altogether more spring-like, with largely overcast skies and a decidedly chilly breeze. My morning was spent with a small group of volunteers, looking at various potential Nature Recovery projects in Peakirk. This was followed by a very welcome cup of coffee and some interesting conversation with another photographer, who has a lot more experience of printing than I do, and is happy to share his A3 printer as long as I pay for the inks and paper. This could be useful!

We didn't walk very far round the parish, so I headed out to Thorpe Hall before dinner to up my step count. It was very quiet (probably because of the cold) but I was pleased to find my first flowering Cuckooflower of the year. This formerly very common plant of damp grasslands has a whole host of vernacular names including Our Lady's smock, milkmaids, fairy flower, May flower and coco plant. In his Flora Britannica, Richard Mabey shows how the first full blooming of the Cuckooflower is a remarkably accurate predictor of the first hearing of the bird itself. I think it'll be at least a couple of weeks before our local Cuckoo returns, though Swallows and House Martins have been seen locally.