Nature Journal: Week Six

May 1st 2020
Hawthorn blossom in full flower. Also known as May flower, for obvious reasons, I think it’s my favourite. 

May 3rd 2020
Field maples are currently foaming with clusters of green-yellow flowers, especially those on woodland edges. Although less showy than the blossom of cherry or blackthorn, the delicate cup shaped flowers of field maples are worth a closer look; already many of them are halfway through developing into miniature versions of the characteristic winged ‘helicopter’ seeds. Catching the metamorphosis halfway from flower to fruit of any species offers a glimpse into the staggeringly complicated workings of nature; look closely at a half-fruit and the dramatic change from one form to another is captured in a freeze frame.

I remember the revelation of re-discovering that all fruit is at first a flower. An epiphany. Somewhere in the back of my brain I knew it already, probably since school, but I had been too busy with things that I had been encouraged to think were important to realise that I should have been listening to the land and the earth instead. The uneasy blend of chaos and banality that society forces upon us leaves little time for thinking about the marvels occurring all around us in nature every second of every day, but once you remember to remember, it is hard to give weight to anything else.

May 5th 2020⁣
The bluebells may have faded but there’s still plenty of vibrant displays of colour around...you just have to get a little closer to the ground.⁣ ⁣Pictured here are micro meadows of bugle, germander speedwell and thyme leaved speedwell.

May 9th 2020
Fluffy willow seeds fill the air, drifting on the humid breeze like a summer snow storm.