Blue and White Woodland carpet.

Although it was unpleasant in the wind, inland it was far more calm, and I took a stroll in Captain's Wood at Whitfield.

Although it doesn't seem many days since my last visit there change was striking. The Bluebells, that where all leaves and no flowers were now out in profusion.

The Wood Anemones were still largely out, but were now having to share the space.

In the background here you can see a field full of Rape, and despite my regular does of local honey I am bunged up, my ears keep hurting and my throat feels like I've got mumps. I've had these symptoms each year for the last few years at this time of year, and given that my sneezing would make the olympic team it's a distinctively uncomfortable time for me.

Wood Spurge is a member of the Euphorbia family. The flowers of spurges are very odd, lacking both petals and sepals. Each cup-like structure contains one or more male flowers and a female flower. The milky-white white sap in the stems is toxic , and the name Spurge comes for the old
french epsurge. to purge, due to its use as a purgative.

In one are the flowers gave way to a carpet of large green leaves and the smell of wild Garlic or Ramsons. This is one of the plants Badgers use as bedding, which is why I always eat garlic when I sit out to photograph them, it's a smell they're used to!

Some of the plants were coming into flower, white stars with six points.

This evening, as I was talking to Derek Jackson of the KOS, a Sparrowhawk came and landed on the bird bath in front of me.

We delayed our discussion, about meeting at Grove Ferry tomorrow, for a couple of minutes white I took a couple of snaps out of the window. This looks like the female, much larger than the bird I photoed a few days ago.