Sunny

No country walk this morning, despite the beautiful weather, as we had to take a walk to Tesco (how I hate that place on a Saturday morning). No sign of the volcanic ash which seems to be blighting the whole of Europe at the moment - not even any sign of spectacular sunsets. So, here are some more pics from our walk yesterday. Starting with a curious-looking flower and one which doesn't even look like a flower - that of the Ash tree (Fraxinus excelsior). A member of the Oleaceae family which includes the Olive tree, Jasmine and Forsythia, among others. The leaves of the Ash are always among the last to appear each year, but the flowers are much earlier.

A much more recognizable flower next, that of a Cherry tree (species unknown) which was showing it's finest floral decoration in he sunshine.

Another Cherry next, this time a Wild Cherry (Prunus avium). The Latin name means 'Bird Cherry' but the tree which we know as Bird Cherry, has the Latin name Prunus padus! It's all rather confusing.

A delightful little creature to end with today. Two Grey Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) were nibbling on a pile of seeds which someone had left (presumably for the birds) on a felled tree.

They didn't seem too bothered by me taking their picture and just got on with the job of eating. There is one strange fact which comes from it's Latin name 'Sciurus'. Skia means Shadow and oura means tail and put together, it alludes to the animal sitting in the shade of it's own tail. A delightful idea!