Life in The Foest

The weather is very changeable here in Ireland at the moment.  Warm and sunny one minute and torrential downpours with gale force winds the next.  So today even though it was a little cold and windy, the sun was out and it was dry, we decided to make the most of it and  head off for a walk in the forest.  We've been so used to seeing the bare wood of the trees here since winter started.  The only colours visible were the brown of the trees, dull yellow of last years moss and the grey of the sky reflected on the fast flowing river.
But today it was different.  The change in the weather and the slight rise in temperatures, finally spring is making an appearance.

I love the contrast of the bright yellow of the willow and the brown of the bare trees behind.  We were trying to decide what these are called.  I used to call them catkins, Lucy calls them cats tails and Patrick says they are pussy willows.  What do you call them??

The next spot of colour that we met on our path was the wild gorse.  I love to see this blooming because to me it indicates the beginning of summer.  I love when they are in full bloom and the fields and hillsides glow yellow with their flowers.  Not flowers to be picked and enjoyed in the home but to be appreciated from afar.

The shaggy petals of the wild primroses make it so much more adorable and attractive to the cultivated ones.  They look so delicate that if a gust of wind blew they would tear straight of the stem.

According to my son the new fresh growth of the moss on the forest floor looks like something from an alien planet.  What do you think?  It seems so spiky and rough in the picture but it was just so soft and bouncy to touch.

I was glad that I took this picture because it made me finally look up it's name.  It's called Lesser Celandine. Why when a flower has such beautiful simplicity do they have to call it "lesser".  It seems so unfair to me!!

And finally just as we were about to walk back to the car, I spotted these on the ground at the base of a big fir tree.  There were mountains of them scattered in all directions.  The squirrels must have been having a great feast after waking up from their winter sleep.  I wonder did they sleep in this year due to the bad weather??

What did you spend your Sunday doing?
Rosie xx