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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: Spring has sprung

65/366 The oldest plants

05 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by sconzani in nature, plants, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Equisetum, fossil plants, Spring has sprung, world's oldest plants

‘The oldest surviving family of plants on Earth is the Equisetum – the horsetail. The fifteen or so species that persist today have known 395 million years of Earth’s history.’  ~  Hope Jahren, Lab Girl: A story of trees, science and love, Fleet, London, 2016.

200305 equisetum (1)
200305 equisetum (2)

To my eye, Equisetum has an ancient look to it. The plant was on this planet long before humans and I’m sure it will be around long after humans have passed. Its spears are pushing up everywhere now, a literal sign that Spring has sprung.

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Wild words: bud burst

18 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in leaves, nature, spring, trees

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Tags

#WildWords, bud burst, bud scales, new leaves, Spring has sprung, springtime, wild words

I love this little miracle that happens every spring, and I couldn’t resist having ‘bud burst’ as this week’s words after seeing many beautiful examples when I was out walking on Monday.

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During winter, deciduous trees look so bare and barren, yet, safely enclosed within the protective cases of their ‘bud scales’, tiny leaves are beginning to grow. Then, once temperatures start to warm up, the trees’ roots absorb more water and the sap begins to rise. The leaf buds grow and swell to the point when their scales just can’t contain them any more and then, one day …

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Shazam! The buds burst out and begin to expand and soak up the spring sunshine!

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Getting the flutters

16 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, spring

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Bee-fly, British butterflies, butterflies, Comma, Comma butterfly, Peacock, Peacock butterfly, Speckled wood, Spring has sprung, springtime

Spring came to south Wales on Saturday at approximately 3.30pm and lasted about 4 hours. (It’s supposed to return again next week and stay a few days but, in the constantly changing contemporary climate, it pays not to count your chickens – or, maybe that should be, your rays of sunshine!) Amazingly, as soon as the sun appeared, so too did the butterflies. It was like a door had been opened – where had they been hiding, I wonder? In the space of about 30 minutes, I saw Peacocks and Commas, several never-settling Brimstones, a distant large-or-small White, and my first Speckled wood of the year. Oh, and a couple of Bee-flies – not butterflies, obviously, but the cutest wee flying things you ever did see so I’ve included one here. It was delightful!

180416 1 Peacock180416 2 Comma180416 3 Peacock180416 4 Comma180416 5 Speckled wood180416 6 Bee fly

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We have blossom!

16 Friday Mar 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, nature, spring, trees

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

#FloralFriday, blossom, Cherry blossom, Cherry tree, spring, Spring has sprung, springtime

180316 blossom (3)

The ornamental cherry outside my living room window is a little behind last year in its blossoming, probably because of that really cold snap we had a couple of weeks back, but the blossom started to open this week. Spring!

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180316 blossom (6)
180316 blossom (2)
180316 blossom (4)

180316 blossom (1)

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The bumbles are back!

24 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, spring, wildflowers

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Tags

bumblebee, crocus, spring flowers, Spring has sprung

180224 bumblebee

Following on from yesterday’s gorgeous crocuses for Floral Friday, here’s a little something I found bumbling about in those flowers …

180224 bumblebee (1)
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180224 bumblebee (3)
180224 bumblebee (4)
180224 bumblebee (5)
180224 bumblebee (6)

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Signs of Spring, 3

25 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, ladybird, nature, spring, wildflowers

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

bees, butterflies, flies, hoverflies, insects, insects in springtime, ladybird, shieldbugs, Spring has sprung

You know Spring has well and truly arrived when the insects start appearing in reasonable quantities so, judging by the numbers of insects I’ve seen on my walks over the past two days, I would say Spring has most definitely sprung, wouldn’t you?

170325 Spring insects (1)
170325 Spring insects (2)
170325 Spring insects (3)
170325 Spring insects (4)
170325 Spring insects (5)
170325 Spring insects (6)
170325 Spring insects (7)
170325 Spring insects (8)
170325 Spring insects (9)
170325 Spring insects (10)
170325 Spring insects (11)
170325 Spring insects (12)

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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