A Wet Spring Walk

Today has been wet; not heavily wet nor windily wet so much as steadily, coldly and persistently wet made worse by the memory of the few gloriously sunshiny intervals we had a couple of days ago. Undaunted, I set off for a walk into the grounds of Dunrobin Castle not expecting much on such a day - but, as often happens, something intervened to cheer me - in the shape of a song thrush.

I stood in this damp, unexceptional clearing, with cold fingers of rain making their way down the back of my neck, and listened to the thrush's glorious song until a growing chill drove me on.

Despite Spring plodding along and the temperature staying well below 10C, there are a few interesting things to find though this part of Scotland must be far behind the rest of the country. The last of the scarlet elfcups are 'in flower' and we have a new spring flower to enjoy....

....as a few wood sorrel blooms are now visible, most nestling on comfy beds of moss.

Then, as I came to the end of my walk, there were a couple of bonuses; a fleeting glimpse of the pale rump of a roe deer as it bounded away into the forestry and....

....when I reached home, a pair of goldfinches enjoying a meal of sunflower seeds.