Change.

Change in more ways than one.

First of all, that irritating change to the word-verification on Google. Can we all have mass protest or something? Everyone I blog with is complaining about it. Tom Stephenson has even threatened to stop visiting me - and I couldn't bear that! I thought it was just my rotten eyesight but it seems that everyone is in the same boat =- we are all having to do three or four word verifications before we get one correct. Why have they changed it and how long do we have to put up with it?

Now for the real change - they have started to chop down my beloved Forty Acre Wood at the bottom of the lane. I am assuming that the trees were grown for wood and are now mature enough to be cut down and sold. The wood is too far away from the farm for us to hear the machinery working but daily lorry loads of tree trunks are hauled past and today the farmer and I walked down to have a look at things. You will see that a large swathe has already been felled. I just hope that they are going to replant. I am pretty sure they will as that is a main pheasant rearing area and the pheasants need plenty of cover. There is also a herd of deer in there somewhere. So far they have not reached the rookery - I wonder what sort of a kerfuffle that will spark off.

At this time of the year, when walking down the lane, I always look out for a patch of purple crocus that I am familiar with. Sure enough they were out today and I greeted them like old friends. That's a sure sign that things are on the move.

And just to underline it, on the way back we saw our first Lesser Celandine. That and a brilliant sunny day here is enough to do the old heart good. And as if that wasn't enough - first thing this morning I watched two brown hares boxing in the field opposite the farmhouse - a sight for sore eyes.

Sorry about the blurred photo of crocus - my hand is very shaky today - think of it as an impressionist photograph.