Feeling the Spring in February

Assembled en masse

Matrimonially white

Announcing Spring Time

Last year, I took the same journey at about the same time. We lunched in Dunster today, just as we had done the previous year. Only this year, the weather was slightly kinder to us.

Last year, there was snow everywhere. In fact, I managed to get stuck on Dunkery Beacon, totally unable to move. It did look wonderful though.

The reason we were all up on Exmoor last year was to catch a bus into Snowdrop Valley. For a very short period each year, there is an abundance of snowdrops in a valley near the village of Wheddon Cross. Unfortunately, the road down to the valley is treacherous at the best of times. Snow covered, it is inaccessible. So the bus wasn’t even running.

Today, it was a different story altogether.

Waiting for the bus, I was beginning to get rather excited as the sun had just peeked through the clouds. Sadly by the time we were transported down into the valley, the sun had vanished but the sight of the masses of snowdrops was still awesome.

http://wheddoncross.org.uk/snowdropvalley.htm

I don’t recall ever seeing so many clusters of snowdrops in one place. I really did begin to think that Spring was on the way. It felt as though everything was waking up once more and for a minute, it seemed as though all was well with the world.

If only people could spend some time simply walking through such natural beauty. I am confident that if they did there would be far less anxiety in the world. If they then decided to spend more time doing such things then the anxiety would not merely dissipate for a short while but gradually a greater sense of calm would take precedence.

Today was a great opportunity to experiment with my new camera. As I said, the light wasn’t completely conducive to perfect pictures but it is always a pleasure to practice.

Snowdrop

Now is the globe shrunk tight
Round the mouse’s dulled wintering heart.
Weasel and crow, as if moulded in brass,
Move through an outer darkness
Not in their right minds,
With the other deaths. She, too, pursues her ends,
Brutal as the stars of this month,
Her pale head heavy as metal.

Ted Hughes