It’s that time of year when things start to sprout, bud, leaf, mate, build nests and start the whole process of renewal. I know this because I’ve seen the sparrows and starlings building their nests. The willows are going green and the magnolia is flowering.

That makes the fact that the young beech trees in our field still have a thick coating of last year’s leaves seem odd but do you know what? Beech trees fill their leaves with toxins, they hang onto them all winter then they let go in the spring when weeds are trying to grow under them. The toxins kill the weeds and therefore prevent them from sucking up nutrients that the beech trees need. Whoever said trees weren’t clever?

I am amazed that something seemingly so fragile is so utterly tenacious. It’s yet another bit of proof that mother nature is an amazing thing. This is a place where the weather has no sense of decorum. We’ve had winds of around 70mph several times over the last few months, bucketing rain and yet here they are, crisp, dry and most of all, still attached to the tree. Fabulous.