Back in February, we drew your attention to the Pollarded Willow at the top on the "lower field". Walking there today, we met a man from the Mendip Society, who manage the fields. We passed a pleasant few minutes in converstation about the field during which he told us, amongst other things, that what we thought to be a Pollarded Willow, is believed to be a Small-leaved Lime. As we haven't seen it in leaf before, I think our mistake is understandable :-) and we're now looking forward to seeing the tree in leaf, which, by the look of the buds, won't be long now.

(He also told us that these fields are called Slader's Leigh.)

Out at Charterhouse there's a large reed bed and pond, where at this time of year you can see a great display of Marsh Marigolds (a.k.a. Kingcups). There's a very pleasant path to walk through the woods that follows on from the reed bed, off the path the ground is very boggy and the Marsh Marigolds grow here too.

In the woods, we were quite delighted by a carpet of tiny green flowers, that we hadn't come across before. The macro facility of the camera revealed an unusual flowerhead (not really discernible to the naked eye), four flowers facing out and one facing up. The flower has a number of names: Muskroot (due to it's scent), Moschatel, Townhall Clock or Five-faced Bishop.

Almost a month ago the Scots pine was really noticable in the then leafless woods. But the warm weather has certainly encouraged a lot of leaf growth and the pine doesn't stand out so much. What a differnce in four weeks!

A beautiful warm and sunny day today, more like summer than spring. But any seasonal confusion drops away as we take the steps up the embankment to Sladers Leigh where, in the shade of the trees, we find a sumptuous display of celandines and anemones.

Stepping out into the field the first things we notice are the stand of silver birches, leaves shimmering in the gentle breeze and the drifts of Lady's Smock standing in the grass. A little further up the gentle slope stands a fine and ancient oak surrounded by violets and cowslips and the first bluebells of the season.

A little further up the field again, the woodland cherry trees in are blossom. The blooms are so much more delicate and subtle than those of the ornamental cherries currently flowering in the local gardens and promise fruit to follow!

At the top end of the field is a memorial bench to Edward Jeffree (1908 - 2004), where we often take a few minutes to rest and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of our surroundings.

Behind the bench is the Lime that we earlier thought to be a willow, the nesting box that is mounted on the tree is being used by bluetits, and we can hear the chicks peeping away as their parent make repeated visits with food. The Lime is now in leaf and looking wonderful as are the celandines at it's base.

The Sunken Coach Road has quite a different feel to how it was back in February. In the dappled shade from the rapidly filling canopy, the banks are now much richer in vegetation, more ramsons (wild garlic), celandines, anemones and violets overhung by ferns.

And so we move on, once again into King's Wood, where the woodland floor is carpeted with flowering ramsons interspersed with bluebells.

We took a trip up towards Bristol, near Butcombe and had a wander about the fields up there. The broad "plateau" on top of the hills close to the airport doesn't really afford many good views, but there were several fine trees that caught our attention.

A horse chestnut standing alone in the middle of one field, broad branches spreading out giving shade to a squirrel that was bounding around it's base. And an oak which marked the boundary between one field and the next, where the farmer had kindly left an artistically placed old piece of farm machinery.

And finally, an old oak at the edge of a field whose heart wood had been completely eaten away, yet clearly doing quite well despite it's apparently sorry condition.