Tag Archives: #Spring

Springtime Lepidoptera on the Fylde Coast Dunes

Lancashire’s Fylde Coast features one of the finest stretches of sand dunes anywhere in England. From St Annes to Starr Gate these dynamic dune-systems, remnants of a once vast realm of sandy hills which stretched along this entire coast, are home to a myriad of flora and fauna, many of which have nowhere else to live.

Hymn to Spring, by Lancastrian Poet Samuel Bamford

Sweet bringer of new life,
welcome thou hither!
Though with thee comes the strife
of changeful weather.
Oh! young and coldly fair,
come with thy storm-blown hair.
Down casting snow-pearls fair,
for earth to gather!

When the Buds and the Blossoms are Fresh on the Trees!

The arrival of spring often feels hard-won here in northern England, winters linger longer here than in the south, with colder temperatures and more frequent frosts delaying the greening of the landscape.

Yet, as days lengthen and occasional milder spells arrive, typically from late February through March, the first tentative signs of nature’s renewal appear on the trees.

Coltsfoot Rocks!

Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, a member of the Asteraceae family, is a perennial herb known for its bright yellow, Dandelion-like flowers that emerge early in spring, often before its broad, hoof-shaped leaves appear. This unique blooming pattern has earned it folk names like ‘son before the father’ and ‘foal’s wort’.

Gallinago the Bog Drummer

If you’ve ever stood in the reeds of Chat Moss, the wet sheep-pastures of the Ribble estuary, the peat-bogs of Bowland or the rushy fields around Martin Mere on a still April evening, you might have heard a weird, somewhat spooky, sound that you couldn’t quite put your finger on; a bleating, almost goat-like humming that seemed to come from the sky itself, and you may have wondered what made it.

Damson Days

Damson Days, a look at the ancient hedgerow fruit, its origins, uses and cultural history, including a simple recipe for a preserve