Spring... are we nearly there yet?

[Woody girl]

Well today I went for a bimble round the lanes and was amazed to see a patch of primrose buds. Further along were some daffodils in bloom and the snowdrops are all over the place. Goose grass or cleavers are about an inch high and lords and ladies are poking their little noses up through the soil. It was quite warm and I had to take my hat off and undo my coat as I began to sweat... me who will find the only draught in a room and say I'm cold. We have been promised snow for several weeks now and I've bought a sled and snow shovel which are now quietly sleeping in the spare room waiting for action. Spring signs in January? Am I seeing things ? Has anyone else got signs in their areas. ?

 

[Toddy]

I have snowdrops, primroses & Winter jasmine in bloom, but we had -4.7 C last night, and snow earlier too.
The Spring bulbs are trying to come up, but the ground's frozen solid.
The lengthening days are starting to be really noticeable though

 

[Alan De Enfield]

Lincolnshire :
The Snowdrops have been out for some time,
The Catkins are well & truly 'dangling'
The Laburnum is in bright yellow flower
The daffs are 'showing' but not yet open

Spring was on the way, but I reckon the cold of the last few nights (-6*C) and similar being forecast for next week will kill off, or at least knock back, the early Spring blooms.

 

[mousey]

I'm still up in the dark and home in the dark, so haven't really noticed any spring activity as yet. Although the last couple of years we've had a warm spell which tricks all the fruit trees into thinking springs here, so they start to bud, then a cold spell hits with high winds and deep frosts and kills all the buds .

Looking forward to the 17+ hours daylight in summer and night [on a good clear one] is nothing but a twilight. The only bad thing about that is getting the kids to bed, 11.00 at night "but it's still day time"!

 

[Broch]

There are plenty of signs of spring on its way here but we had it last year then heavy snow und freezing conditions.

I know gorse can flower any time of the year but this bush at the entrance to our wood just brightens any day (even a foggy one )

Please excuse the 'phone' photo!

 

[Sundowner]

Woody girl, sorry to say, but..........absolutely NO HOPE!!!

 

[saxonaxe]

I was tottering around on the Isle of Wight recently and you can't get much further South....Well you can but that's just being Scilly....

A chill wind at times along the Coastal Path but most of the time it was just a lightweight fleece over a T shirt when walking ( nothing strenuous, mostly flat )
I did notice that Daffodils everywhere were well advanced but not quite ready to bloom yet.

 

[Woody girl]

As a child is remember picking snowdrops and primroses for easter church decorations. The seasons have gone haywire and I find this very worrying. It is lovely to see signs of spring this early but it's not right. If it all gets killed off with realy cold weather and snow in the next few weeks....... I do a lot of foraging so I notice these things.and depend on them a lot for my larder. I feel uneasy somehow. I'm lucky to live here as generaly the climate is milder and spring earlier than other parts of the country. Even so, it's a bit too early here.

 

[Woody girl]

By the way if anyone is visiting exmoor in early February a trip to snowdrop vally is recommended . It opens on 2nd February. I don't know how to post links but you can Google it. It's a lovely walk down from the car park through the woods or there is a mini bus ferry service for a small charge. It is near Wheddon cross not far from minehead. Usually they do teas in the village hall and you can buy snowdrops for your garden too. Wear good boots! it can be muddy.

 

[oldtimer]

For the past few years we have had primroses all the year round. This always makes my wife comment as she remembers that her mother, when living in London, used to receive a carefully packed bunch of primroses every spring from her Devonshire family to remind her of was she was missing by moving away.

Here in Oxfordshire, our garden is full of snowdrops, the catkins have arrived and the bulbs are shooting up fast.

However, the main indicator of the imminent arrival of spring is that I am overhauling my travelling kit.

 

[Woody girl]

Today I took another walk in the late afternoon and the patch of primrose is now in full flower. A few celandine nearby are also blooming. I also found several jelly ear fungi which are now in the dehydrator. There is a promise of several more to come. Hazel catkins are abundant. Still no snow, though looking at the clouds if it wasn't 10 degrees daytime temperature I'd say we'd have had snow tonight. Reckon we'll have rain instead.

 

[Robson Valley]

Thank you for the green pictures. Another 2-3" new snow in the night. Maybe -2C and no wind now.
Sled heads say 12" - 30" new up top, depending on where you go.
The east and west sides of the valley are profoundly different.
Serious melting in the valley won't start for another 6 weeks. Up top is June.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Had Spring about a month ago, then again a couple of weeks ago, then again last Sunday. In between little squirts of Spring, we get bouts of Winter, with nights of -2°C to -6°C and days of between 2°C and 4°C. We've even had the odd sprinkling of snow!

The cyclamens in the woods seem to have been in flower every four or five weeks since last March.

 

[Woody girl]

It's definitely here! Today is tried to get up the sides of the vally into the woods but only made it about of a third of the way up. I was so cross with myself and sat down only to find loads of wild garlic leaves. Excited I picked a small handfull and started looking for more things. Sorrel nettle pennywort cleavers all went into my bag for my first wild herb omelette of the year. I also noted lots of wild flowers. Primroses violet leaves celandine a few daffs and two or three others. The wild gooseberry bush has small leaflets showing and there are catkins everywhere.
Crossness at my limitations dissolved and I went home happy via the river which gurgled noisily along telling me spring is finally underway. YES!

 

[snappingturtle]

I'm off to hound Tor on Wednesday, to go climbing this time so yes!

 

[dwardo]

Getting there and crikey its needed. Wife, I and the bairns have all had the lovely full evil flu over the past month or so. Just the sun on your face for a few hours it a new lease of life. Snow drops, primrose and woodland from afar showing the first few flushes of bud colour. Bring it on already as its been a grey and sickly orrible one!

 

[Woody girl]

I'm off to hound Tor on Wednesday, to go climbing this time so yes!

Oh lucky you. I used to love climbing and abseiling but my knees just won't let me anymore. I can still abseil but I can't get up so that I can go down. !

 

[Broch]

I'm not sure, the signs are there but I suspect a false dawn

The bluebells are well and truly sprouting, the primroses are in flower but this poor peacock has come out of hibernation a month early at least

 

[snappingturtle]

Oh lucky you. I used to love climbing and abseiling but my knees just won't let me anymore. I can still abseil but I can't get up so that I can go down. !

I'm free climbing with Sammi so it will be only the most easy of route's as she is very new to it, she finds the thrill in it, but I don't want to scare her away from being bold, you know how it is, pushing out a comfort zone so it grows but not so far as to scare them and have it shrink back badly due to going to far too soon.

 

[John Fenna]

The air tasted of Spring up in the woods today,- bluebells were starting to force their way up through the pine duff, birds singing their anthems to the sun...
And I was wearing not longjohns nor sweater.
Aye Spring is advertizing that she is not far away!