Looking for spring

It's about this point in the year I start getting impatient for spring.  We in the northern hemisphere all know January and February are months that show very little in the way of bright colour.  It's mostly grey and muddy.  Then the whites start to come with the snowdrops followed by yellows (primrose and daffs) and blues (bluebells), but the reds that are so prevalent in the second half of the year are almost entirely absent.  Today I set myself the task of finding some.  This tiny offering is what I came up with.

I think a few of us have already blipped hazel catkins - the male flowers - this year.  Here is one of the female flowers.  What I didn't realise until I looked them up just now is that although hazels produce both kinds of flowers together, males (the catkins) can only fertilise female flowers like this one if they grow on a different shrub.  Okay, I expect you knew that but I found it fascinating.

Today was also notable for me as being the first time I've visited Clausentum Fen this year.  (No, let's not call it a red letter day!)  I wanted to see what was beginning to grow up.  The answer, apart from the hazel, was nettles (obviously), the beginnings of what will be a carpet of snowdrops, rather further behind than ours here, the beginnings of the marsh marigold leaves, no ramson leaves yet, ditto bluebells.  Most of the rest is still well underground.  I shall certainly visit it again next month.

Okay, that's me.  Have a good evening and a great start to the weekend  xx