Blue

It wasn't only the sky that was blue yesterday.  As we turned our steps homeward, we strolled through Mapperley (known to us as Bluebell) Wood and were not disappointed.

Bluebells (Hycinthoides non-scripta) are always a welcome harbinger of Spring and their sweet scent wafted through the trees yesterday as the sun warmed their flowers.

Parts of the wood were carpeted with these little flowers especially where the soil is damp.  Being a moisture-loving plant, Bluebells do well in most parts of the UK, except some of the more arid, South-eastern areas where the chalky soils tend to be too dry for them.  No such problems around these parts however.

With the air filled with Bluebell perfume and the songs of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Wren, Whitethroat, Blackcap, Robin, Blackbird, Collard Dove and Woodpigeon, there could be no finer place on earth.