March

St David's Day, the first of March, and, for a wonder, sunshine. Unfortunately a stiff cool breeze was knocking about ten degrees off what should have been a quite balmy temperature, and deterring the butterflies from flying (still nothing since those two precocious Peacocks in early February).
Down at the local nature reserve, they've been felling and clearing quite dramatically – a bit of a shock to the eye at first, but it's all to the good: they're getting rid of a lot of non-native trees and bushes, and replacing them with more 'sustainable' native species. And, in doing all this clearing, they're letting in more light, which is always good news for butterflies, in these days when so much woodland is overgrown and under-managed, and so many people are apparently convinced that you simply cannot plant too many trees, what with the planet needing to be saved, etc.
  All the signs of imminent spring were in evidence this morning – birdsong, early blossom, daffodils, crocuses, anemones, swelling buds on the trees, the blackthorn bursting to flower – and, in the shallows of the pond, frogs diligently copulating and churning out industrial quantities of spawn.
I have high hopes of March; it surely won't be long till the winds drop and we have one of those glorious warm sunny days when everything wakes up and spring comes alive – butterflies and all.