Spring

The first post accident walk with Kaylee and the cart. I believe Spring is finally among us! The woods are glorious. A pale chartreuse haze suffuses the gaunt trees, and the floor is of the most astonishing sap green, that looks like grass at a distance but is actually an endless carpet of Anemone nemorosa, glittering with hundreds, thousands, countless thousands of pure white flowers. These are as elegant as a spring flower can be, graceful on their long maroon-green stems. The normal form has six petals but the observant eye can easily pick up flowers with five, seven or even eight petals. Clumps of violets and Ranunculus ficaria, the lesser celandine, on its shiny, jewel like leaves, add colour, and the first flowers of cardamine pratensis, the Lady' Smock, a particular favourite of mine, grace the sunnier pastures. This is a small flower, but so neatly drawn that, despite its puny size and demure tint, it looks as beautiful as a carved heraldic picture. Its colour ranges from nearly white to pale lilac, through every shade of mauve, colours that would indeed well befit the Lady Arwen of Rivendell, as I imagined her from the books. The tiny leaves of this herb can also be eaten in salads, their taste fresh and spicy, French mustard, watercress and may be a touch of Granny Smith. Oxalis acetosella is also blooming, as delicate as fine lace, its delicious, refreshing, heart shaped leaves the most fresh lime green, the flowers of a white so thin as to be almost transparent.