Wild flowers in the woods

I do enjoy walking but it does take a special effort to go "for a walk" rather than just walking somewhere I need to go.  I am easily put off by a poor weather forecast.  So I decided to join a walking group to spur me on. 

My first walk with them turned out to be the last of the winter walks so it was longer than usual, a good half hour longer than the 1 to 1.5 hours they advertised.  They went through the rhubarb fields.  I have never seen a rhubarb field before, but there it was.  Full of rhubarb.  I hadn't thought to carry my camera along but decided I would for the next walk.

It was a beautifully warm and sunny day, unseasonally warm.  I waved goodbye to my companions and assured them I'd be there the following week as long as it didn't snow.  Guess what?  Fortunately the 6 inches of snow that fell in Scotland didn't get too far south but rain was in the forecast.

My second walk turned out to coincide with the appearance of the windflowers in one of the local woods.  So it was longer than usual, a good half hour longer.  But this time I did have the camera.

In spite of the dry weather we've had all winter, the woods were full of wild flowers and greenery. 

Wood anemones, also known as windflowers or thimbleweed have half inch diameter flowers and form spreading carpets of growth in suitable shady conditions.  They die back completely in the summer.  They are nothing like their brightly coloured cultivated cousins, but have their own special charm. 

 Of course there were primroses too, one of my favourites.

And violets.

I was surprised that the leader of the walk happily pointed out the celandine.  When I had a garden I spent years attempting to get rid of it as it attempted a take over.  I eventually came to terms with it when I heard a radio programme suggest that the best way of dealing with it was to "learn to love your celandine".   I kept muttering that to myself every spring as I pulled it up by the handful.

There was quite a bit more to see in the woods, including some evidence of World War II, surprising in what seemed like an out of the way place.  I'll be back again though, to check that out along with the bluebells which should be in full bloom before the end of the month.