Riot of colour!

What an amazing Easter this has been. The weather is hot (high 20's centigrade) and sunny, hardly a cloud in the sky. I don't remember when it last rained. This is most unusual for April which is famous for its showers.

The bluebells are a carpet of blue through the woods and all the other flowers are a riot of colour. Sadly, the lack of rain means the bluebells are dying back early. Too early!



The azaleas are absolutely gorgeous and the perfume from this yellow one is amazing. It is a pity that I cannot capture the scent for this blog.

I was standing watching this morning while the speckled wood butterflies were all over the place fluttering around in a frenzy in the sunshine and occasionally landing on the bluebells.



Finally, the cuckoo has been calling all week. No sight of him, though.

This time of year is magical.

She's Mine . . . No, She's Mine!

I have spent a lot of time watching the pheasants in the last few weeks. They are most amusing. The cock pheasants are wandering around hopefully trying to attract the females, chasing them around the garden and displaying their beautiful plumage.

The females seem to be completely disinterested but the cocks live in hope.

Occasionally, a fight breaks out between competing cocks - really quite aggressive. The fight in this photograph broke up when they heard the clicking of my shutter. Sadly, it is not a good photo but the best I could manage.



I spent last weekend trying to take some decent photos of the cherry blossom. It is a really gorgeous sight but very difficult to photograph without blowing the highlights in the sun. It also requires a very still day. The beautiful weather continued over last weekend but has changed for the worse during this week. Still no rain, though.



Finally, another bluebell shot. I would love to find some more unusual ways of photographing bluebells. This one is backlit. Any suggestions?