Its mid February – its dry and bright but I doubt I am the only one itching for spring. I have gone back to the blog post for this time last year. It featured comment on moles, dissected owl pellets and some photos of the first signs of spring. Its interesting re reading the post as, so far as I can see, we are a good few weeks behind where we were this time last year.
Only the frogs have kept to the routine – and our pond is full of activity and frogspawn. This time last year the early purple orchids were showing the first spotty green and purple spikes of leaves – and there were a few green leaves just coming through on the hawthorn. This year, only a few brave elder leaves have emerged from buds and the moles are keeping their heads down in our fields (pretty much).
I look forward to receiving photos you may be taking of the signs of spring – as we wait for our meadows to get going.
On the website, there is a page of Meadow Galleries. If anyone would like to update their current entry (or photos) please be in touch. Likewise new galleries are very welcome.
I am hoping to set up a new page on the website with some before and after pictures. Creating and maintaining spaces for wildlife and plants takes work – and the page will be about showing the very positive results of our membership’s graft. Andrew Martin gave us a great post and photos back in December 2016 – but I know how much work is being done on various sites. We are busy working on the hedges before its gets too late in the year. Some brambles need to be checked back – partly as they are invading and partly to allow us to control bracken when it emerges later in the year. We have had good success with bracken control – and I will be digging out some photos for the new page to show what has been done in 3 years.
As evidence that spring is definitely coming, I have had an email from Bee Wild West Wales, Bee Conservation Trust. Their first event is 10 March – a BeeWalk Network Afternoon (with tea and cake). 1 to 3.30pm – Harlow Room, Welsh Wildlife Centre, Cilgerran – Learn about upcoming walks, talks, identification training, surveys……for more information contact buzzingwales@bumblebeeconservation.org.
All your meadow news and photographs are wanted. I look foward to hearing from you. Rachel
website@carmarthenshiremeadowsgroup.org
Carmarthenshire Meadows Group - Grŵp Dolydd Sir Gaerfyrddin 
Thanks for a very interesting article, We are in southern Spain at the moment and although we missed the recent snow it is still cold here. Spring is a little later here too
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Things are similar with us – daily visits from the heron alerted us to the arrival of breeding frogs in the pond, and there are now a couple of panfuls of spawn. The heron isn’t there today though as the pond is frozen. The main indicator of approaching spring for us is the amount of birdsong, throughout the day but mostly at dawn. There have also been a couple of honeybees foraging on some snowdrops on milder days – honeybees are supposed not to forage at <15 degrees but ours must be made of sterner stuff.
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