Getting going again

Life is fraught - with the consequences of house moving (or rather trying to) but it is important to get out now that spring is springing.

Howard Parsons very gamely offered to take me to a Hutchinsia site he had been to on a field meeting I couldn't make. The forecast was dire but we set out down Nightingale valley and along the Avon river path. You need to be shown this plant - or be one of the eagle eyed and expert botanists that first found it - and with Howard's help we indeed found it again. I would not have spotted it I am sure. This is one flower for which I would blow my own trumpet about the calibrations on FloralImages - you need to know how small and delicate it is !

Then as a bonus we thought we would give Bristol Rockcress a try - despite it being a little early for it - success ! The weather was far better than expected and plants were (just) flowering - in fact I nearly trod on one quite far from the rocks and growing in grass nearby as we arrived at the location.

Then to a BSBI meeting to learn more about conifers - long an interest but also a mystery to me. A great meeting - haphazard in the best way - because there was always more to comment on before resuming the plan. FloralImages now has many more trees in it's collection including the rare in the wild Fitzroya. And an amazing illustration of the fact that Coast Redwoods can regenerate from low down on the trunk / stump - see this !