Sheep may safely graze...

...or in this case, just lie around doing very little! I love this Goat Willow tree in the centre of one of our meadows at the nature reserve. Here you see some of our Beulah (Welsh Mountain or Speckled Face) sheep flock taking a break from their duties nibbling the coarse grasses and scrub. They've actually been on the reserve a little longer than planned and will be moved back to our big reserve at College Lake, near Tring, any day now.

It was a delightful morning to be walking around the reserve. Insects still not plentiful, but I saw my first Bluebells and Stitchwort in flower. The ground was surprisingly dry; you wouldn't know we had lots of rain and snow such a short time ago. We could actually do with some gentle April showers before the end of the month - then I feel the normal late spring flowering and hatching can get underway.