After a couple of relatively dry days with a stiff breeze the countryside is starting to dry out, at least a little bit anyway. The surface of the mud is a bit crusty where it’s dried out and the fields don’t look quite so water logged. Some crops like this winter wheat are growing strongly now but they’re in the minority. Many fields have stunted crops or nothing at all where the soil is too damaged for machinery to be able to get out. On the Manhood peninsular acres of lettuces have been abandoned so there’s no need for crop protection, they’ve gone!
In the splash in the picture there’s great clouds of algae that’s formed recently, as there is choking up many of the streams in the area. Goodness knows how much nitrate run off has caused this to happen, clearly some of it has gone into the harbour as well, the way the birds have been feeding recently.
Before leaving the fields we were treated to a bright flash of colour when two Yellowhammers lifted off the ground in front of us and flew into the hedge nearby.
There’s other colour about, especially these daffodils that make a splendid display on this sea wall. Elsewhere there are large patches of lesser celandine and plenty of dead nettle, both white and red. Unfortunately there’s not much activity out on the mud, very few waders or wildfowl in evidence; they must be down in the channel.
The hedges continue to become more green as the leaves develop, more catkins are appearing and for the first time and here, some pussy willow. Traditionally it appears at the beginning of Lent; in Poland it’s a substitute for palms on Palm Sunday.