Late February 2019. Although nobody is present in the above image, the clear blue sky and the crispness of the scene illustrates, I think, the splendid weather most of us have enjoyed in the U.K. recently. A few days ago, I saw a ‘woolly bear’ caterpillar crawling through the grass in my back garden, and yesterday there was a honey bee prowling around there. The hive must have sent him out as a scout, to see if there were any flowers around. Of course there weren’t; or not any of those favoured by honey bees, so I imagine he reported back that it was OK, but no need for concerted activity yet-awhile.

The images on this page were all shot in Grove Park, Harborne, Birmingham, on 27th February. We have had no snow this winter; a great contrast to last year, and very few frosts. Of course, there may be some down-side that is yet to come!

We already have a page on the Grove Park (http://normanfield.com/index.php/grove/). This pond is artificial, and was near the house called The Grove (now demolished); and I suspect it was/is fed by a nearby spring. The land slopes away to the right, and there was probably a stream that ran in that direction, entering the Bourne Brook, which is a few hundred yards in that direction. There still is an overflow outlet, in the right foreground.

A tree stretches its arms, basking in the unexpected sunshine. We had 16°C today – very mild for February.

Another beautiful, complex outline against a bright, clear sky.

This great Oak, as yet bare, embraces a view of the new ‘space age’ building of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital – by the way, that Elizabeth is not our present Queen, but her mother, who was the wife of King George VI. He reigned from 1937 to 1952, though work on the hospital had begun in the early 1930s. Part of the site, Metchley, included a Roman Fort, built early during the Roman conquest of Britain – certainly before 70 AD, when it was temporarily abandoned. It was later reoccupied until 120 AD, when, being well behind the frontier of Roman expansion, it was abandoned for good. To the right, may be seen the slender & elegant tower of the University of Birmingham, the core of which is a fine Byzantine complex. It was formally opened in 1909 by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

This edge of the Park, open to the main road, is noted for its Crocuses, which stretch for such a distance that they cannot be adequately photographed from ground level. They are all purple or white, but I was pleased to find one patch which included a few yellow examples.

Catkins!

This large Cedar is reputed to have been planted in the 1780s. This was our nearest local park, and I used to lift my two kids into the crooks of the lowest branches when they were really little. At first, they would be rather frightened; but after a year or two they got used to it, and then I think they simply pretended to be frightened, just for my sake! This is the first time I have ever noticed the female seed cones on it.

So: a brief half-hour’s walk in familiar surroundings, on a glorious early Spring day – simple things can be really enjoyable. One last reminiscence: my grandmother used to love reading American detective novels, and one day, many, many years ago she said to me: ‘Oh – you would know about this,’ and she quoted from the book she was reading: ‘It was a beautiful Spring day – just like a Joe Venuti record.’

I could not agree more, so here is one for your delectation: “Apple Blossoms”, by Joe Venuti’s Blue Four. Joe Venuti (violin); Frank Trumbauer (bassoon, alto saxophone); Lennie Hayton (celeste, piano); Ed. Lang (guitar). Recorded in New York, 18th October 1929.