Marching On

It's March - and time is marching on. I've got out from time to time to go for a march too, though my style of locomotion these days is far from military, more of a dawdle. So apologies for the lack of posts this month, particularly if you've been worried about my absence.

Our local Little Egret has been wading around in the little chalk stream and was so intent on its next meal that it took no notice of me. 

But mostly I was concentrating on close-ups (and very close-ups) of what was down at my feet. Celandines began flowering a while ago.

But a lot of what I found down on the woodland floor still looks decidedly autumnal, like this pine-cone. Would you like a closer look?

I love the patterns that are revealed on close inspection.

Lichens look like tiny flower gardens when you get down on your hands and knees to examine a piece of fallen tree bark.

And here's a tiny sprig of moss pushing up between last year's leaves.

This little oak leaf has been hoisted aloft by the new growth coming up from below - mostly cow parsley, I think. But the weather hasn't always been as optimistic as the foregoing shots suggest.

The wrong sort of snow - for me at least. Although parts of the country had a picturesque covering of the white stuff, here it was wet sleety snow propelled on fierce north-easterly winds.

But the early blossoms seem to come whatever the weather.

I've often lamented the lack of quality and quantity of the street art around here. Then I saw this skillful portrait on an obscure wall of a local sports pavilion. For those of you who, like me, had no idea who this was, I can tell you that David Jolicoeur, aka "Trugoy the Dove", was a rapper who was one third of the hip-hop group De La Soul (I've heard of them). He passed away on February 12th of this year. I'm sure this must just be a personal tribute from a fan who lives locally.

I went back to the copious blossoms. But what would it look like if I photographed Trugoy through the out-of-focus branches.....

I desaturated the colours and cooled the image down a bit. I hope that works. I'd better find a cheery photo to end this brief post....

*******

Now, some time ago I introduced you to the amazing pianist, Derek Paravicini, who, as well as being a first rate musician, also happens to be blind and autistic (or neurodivergent, as we should now say). What I didn't tell you was that Derek is also a patron of the Amber Trust, a charity which exists to provide music lessons for young people with similar needs. One of their star pupils (though they're all stars to me) did rather well on national TV recently:

Well done, Lucy. In case you are wondering, the two men featured in the audience are the singer-songwriter Mika and the classical pianist Lang Lang. If you want to see more videos about the work of the Amber Trust they have their own YouTube channel. (Click on where it says "popular" to find the stories of some of the children who have been helped to fulfil their potential by the charity).

Take care.