First day of spring.

The fist of March is the Met Office's date for the first day of spring. And, after a slightly frosty start with mist in the valley, it tuned out to be a lovely day. My thermometer reads 10c in the shade, but I suspect a little warmer in the sunshine.

I watched a couple of Lapwings display briefly in a field near my house. A Starling perched in an Alder tree in the corner of my veg patch, singing for extended periods. I could hear Great Tits singing in the distance. And Dunnocks  were chasing each other through the hedges and shrubs.

In the afternoon we walked on public footpaths across the fields to Holehouse Lane, and up the lane to Brown Edge. Gorse was flowering near a stream in one of the fields, and we also saw Daisies, Dandelion and Lesser Celandine coming in to flower.

View of fields adjacent to small valley with a headwater stream that runs into The Village, Endon SJ925 543.