Herald Copse

Yesterday to Herald Copse at Nonsuch Park to see whether it was indeed heralding the arrival of spring, very nearly a year to the day since our first visit of the year last year. See reference 1.

As on that occasion, the snowdrops were not yet fully out, but a fine show nevertheless. I had a go with the telephone, but I think one has to have seen snowdrops for real for the reproduction to do much, it serving better as a reminder than an introduction.

Once again we passed on tea and cake, on this occasion as we were still too full of the luncheon roast chicken and (outdoor) stuffing, rather than breakfast. Stuffing which was entirely acceptable if not as good as the real thing: the odd bread was fine, but the mixed herbs were not as good as the freshish sage would have been from Waitrose, See previous post.

A cold day with a cold south westerly wind, which I had thought was a northerly wind while on the Horton Clockwise earlier in the day. Maybe it had swung round as a (roughly circular) depression had moved across the Epsom area. Some small birds about, but mostly crows, seagulls and pigeons. I don't ever recall seeing a hawk or a falcon at Nonsuch, despite it being the sort of mixed wood and grass that one might have thought would attract them and their prey. Maybe there are owls which come out at night, which we do not get to see but which block the niches that hawks and falcons might otherwise occupy.

We were also introduced to motorised scooters with two young girls buzzing up and down the southern avenue. I dare say they recharge themselves if run downhill, but we were told that mains intervention was needed when back at home. Scooters and girls both bright pink,with frequent stops to brush the mud off; staying smart & pink clearly being important for them.

Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/snowdrops.html.