Rich with the Promise of New Life

Managed to take a wander along the River Tweed, at Gattonside on Thursday, and wow is all I can say!!! Finally a place that spring hasn’t forgotten! It might be some way behind, but finally the warmth of a few nice days has reminded the world that spring is actually coming and the place seems rich with the promise of new life.

The river bank is covered with the bright, shiny, spring-green leaves of the Few-flowered Leek, which when bruised by our passing, gave the air a wonderful garlicky smell. Amongst the leaves, the majority of flower buds still remain tightly closed, waiting for a touch more warmth, but just occasionally an odd white papery flower is found. In other places there were patches of the heart shaped leaves of the Lesser Celandine, again most of the flowers were just buds, but one or two had dared to open their bright yellow flowers to follow the sun. Shouting for all the world to see that spring comes to those that wait!

 

Purple Toothwort – 09 April 2013 (Copyright Ross Lockley)

With some careful searching around the base of a number of Willow trees, I found the prize of the afternoon, one tiny but amazing bloom of the Purple Toothwort. Even though not a native of the British flora (it was originally introduced from south-west Europe), I do love this small secretive plant. Its a small parasite that grows on the roots of Willows and Poplars, and can only be readily found when it flowers in the spring. For the rest of the time, as this plant does not photosynthesis and therefore does not need leaves, it’s lost beneath the ground. For all this explanation, I still feel that it reminds me of a miniature Trifid, with the hooded bloom and hairy anthers. Closer examination of the patch reveals a number of buds surrounding the single open flower, waiting for the weather to warm before opening, currently though they look a touch like the gaping mouths of some alien monster, ready to grab at a passing morsel, if it dares to approach too close!

 

Purple Toothwort – 09 April 2013 (Copyright Ross Lockley)

Changing Light

Running a bit behind as typing is slow with one hand at present – this entry dates from Monday 11 February. Enjoy!

From the greyness of Sunday, Monday was just so different. It was as though overnight someone had taken the flat grey world and coloured it in, to form a beautiful, new, three dimensional place. All because the sun decided to shine!

In the light of this new world, went up to St Mary’s Loch and Loch of the Lowes, here the hills still wore a mantle of winter, with a good coating of snow. Up here the snow was still fresh and bright, like a new coat of icing. For once there was a very distinctive snow line, above which the snow sat pristine and deep, below which the winter browns and greens had just been splattered with a thin indistinct covering that quickly lost all signs of snow. Against the white, the browns seemed much warmer and alive today. This was especially so for those Larches that occurred in patches amongst the dark greens of the surrounding conifers, even more so when the conifers had been sprinkled with snow. Just like someone had shaken icing sugar all over them.

Loch of the Lowes – 11 February 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)

Monday was a day when the light was continually changing. One moment the bright sunshine produced clear warm colours; the next the clouds had moved across the sun and the scene became brooding and dramatic. Then as the clouds moved again the sun rays broke through, looking as though a series of spotlights had been fired up highlighting specific points on the hillsides and loch, almost as though it was an alien landing point.

St Mary’s Loch – 11 February 2013 (Copyright Carol Jones)