Hello again
I think Spring has sprung! Today is the 18th of March and it’s a lovely day. The 1st of March was also lovely with the daffodils in bloom and the primroses appearing in the lanes. There were bees on the cyclamen and crocuses in our garden. Returning home at about ten o’clock one evening, there were two deer 
in the road just this side of Luton, so we must drive with great care.
There were still some fieldfares about on the 5th of March but I think they will all have gone home to Norway now. On good days, there are more buzzards soaring in the sky and you can hear their mewing calls.
On the 7th of March, which was another nice day, we saw two butterflies on the wing. One was a brimstone, a male, showing off his beautiful lemon colours in the 
sun. The other butterfly was a small tortoiseshell. Its colour was slightly faded because it will have been hibernating in a sheltered place during the winter. I think I’m right in saying that the brimstone would have been freshly out of the chrysalis, that is to say brand new. If I’m wrong, do please let me know!
Whenever I take a stroll over the bridge at Tuck Mill, I always look down into the River Tale to see if there are any fish. On the 10th of 
March, there was indeed a good-sized trout waiting for some food morsel to float downstream. This is the earliest time of year that I’ve seen one here.
Bye for now, Alan
