A gallery of photographs and poems about Spring

SPRING

Celebrating the abundance of Spring as leaves, flower buds, grasses and plants burst into life and songbirds welcome the day with symphonies of Dawn Chorus.

Soldier Beetle

An armoured beetle soldiers on,
A force of life in the heat of the sun,
Long and slender with leatherlike wings,
Polllinating flowers in the early spring.
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Red Admiral Butterfly

Magnificent butterfly with black velvet wings,
I see your white spotted tips and bright orange bands,
A welcome migrant from northern climes,
A symbol of transformation, joy and happy times.
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Honey Bee

Honey scented matico, a magnet for bees,
Bright orange ball flowers attract them with ease,
Bursting with nectar and pollen to please:
A delicious scent on a gentle breeze.
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Harlequin Ladybird

Bringer of fortune, innocence and love,
Ladybugs remind us to live life to the full,
A gift to brighten any day,
Transformations with happy resolutions are on their way.
Hover Fly

Hamless hoverfly, gardener's friend,
A suit so glossy with striking bands,
With wings that hover at impossible speeds,
This skilled deceiver mimics bees.

Feeding on aphids, bugs and thrips,
Pollinating flowers where're she goes,
Like a hornet but with larger eyes and lack of sting,
The stunning belted hoverfly is a beautiful thing.
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Burnet Moth

A red spotted moth found on the dunes,
Resting on a striking Viper's-Bugloss bloom,
Glossy black with six spots on its long, narrow wings,
Slowly fluttering in and around the reeds.
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Cotton Thistle

Head down and diving in,
A bee loves nectar rich thistles like these,
They are bright and lucious and sweet as can be,
With fine cotton hairs on their stems and leaves.
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Flower Crab Spider

Without a web to catch its food,
The flower crab spider sits and broods,
Laying in wait for an insect, moth or bee,
To land on the flower where they come to feed.
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Sleeping Snails

Tiny lemon snail sleeping under a leaf,
Not far from the sea on a sandbar reef;
Tucked up closely to an accommodating friend;
Safe and cosy as the wind blows and the leaves bend.
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Gold Ringed Dragonfly

A riverland wonder from the southern glades,
On her way to her breeding place,
Resting to gather warmth in the sun,
Before going on her way.

Fast and angile, sleek and strong,
With stunning markings in black and gold,
Her beauty would be hard to replace,
A living symbol of elegance, happiness, peace and grace.
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Busy Bee

A bee can travel ten miles a day to gather food,
Sweet nectar and pollen to feed her brood,
Never a moment's rest for this busy bee,
A joy to hear and a delight to see.
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Sacred Snail

Slow to move but steady and true,
Snails know which way to go,
Carrying their home in their spiral shells,
Reminding us to take our time and consider our decisions well.
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Daisy Trap - Photograph by Sue Cartwright, Spiral Leaf

Ladybird Bridge - Photograph by Sue Cartwright, Spiral Leaf

Copper Coloured Beetles - Photograph by Sue Cartwright, Spiral Leaf

Bluebell Fields

Throwback to the farming days of old;

A time of wagons, scythes and horse drawn ploughs,

When fileds were full of wildflowers, herbs and food,

Bringing joy to all, in harmony for the good.
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Summer Snowflakes

Snowdrops, Summer Snowflakes, love to grow in dappled shade,

Laid like a pretty carpet, on a roadside glade,

Long slim leaves and tall dark stems,

With dainty bonnet flowers dipping down on top of them
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New Beginnings

The first sign of Spring can be found in the woods,

Wild Garlic leaves spring from their rhizomes beneath,

Gracing pathways with ribbons of fresh new life,

With the promise of abundance in flowers and buds.
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Wild Garlic Fields

Wild Garlic fields, swathe upon swaths,

Ancient gift of the woods; white flowers, crisp leaves and opening buds,

A find for a forager, a family feast,

So full of goodness and tasty to eat.
New Leaves

New leaves burst from every branch in Spring,

So fresh and soft, glowing in translucent green,

Perfectly made with atoms, cells and elegant veins,

The miracle of life therin contained.

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Sweet Violet

Sweet Violet, shy one, know that you are truly blessed,

For your daintiness and charm,

For your exquisite hue so warm,

For your comfort and your balm,

For your prettiness and calm, quiet surrender.
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Nature's Champion

Oh darling, Red Campions, take me back in time,

To my childhood days when summertime stretched out for miles and miles,

When your colour wass a siran, a notice and a bell,

To say, warm days are on otheir way and all will be well.
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Wild Parsely Lanes

As the weather starts to warm, a chill winds in the air,

Wild Parsley opens up in fields and verges, and in lanes,

In sprays of charm, they bloom into clouds of white;

Lace-like and graceful, an early Spring delight.

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Greater Stitchwort

No prettier flowers adorn our field edges and lanes,

Pure whte petals, heartshaped, stunning yet plain,

With pretty gold stamens, dancing in the breeze,

There is no lovelier wildflowers, than wildflowers like these.
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Fern Light

I love the way the sunshine lights the Ferns,

Delicate fronds, unfurling in the Sun,

Such lime-green freshness, every Spring since time began,

To bless this Earth with colour, life and love.

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Fern Art

Ferns stretch upwards towards the light,

Tips dipped, revealing sori in lines,

Spores in the sporangia, close to release,

The beauty of new life contained in each fronded leaf.
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Unfurling Frond

An furling frond emerges from a rhizome underground,

Head coiled tightly in a crosier spiralling round,

Just like the head of of an instrument, carved in wood,

The Fiddlehead is named as such, as it fondly should.
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