For the first time in some months we walked up into the forestry around the neighbouring crofting township of Backies to find some of the coniferous plantations badly damaged by the recent gales. The worst-hit areas seemed to be those which were thinned last summer rather than clear-felled.
These woodlands are some of the best locally for fungi but we saw none. March is a poor month for people like me who enjoy finding things on our walks, but at least now, with the equinox a couple of days away, Nature is beginning to stir.
In the more open glades, which include some with very ancient oaks, we found the first signs of the greening of spring, with some plants....
....such as the foxgloves (above), making an early start, but we saw few plants in flower, and all these - lesser celandine, dandelion and gorse - are yellow. Then, to add to the yellows, in just one sunny spot we found what, to me, is one of the milestones of the natural year....
....the first primrose flowers.
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