What is it they say about best laid plans?

Yes, well here we are more than a month after my first post in this series and a bit later than intended, and a lot wetter than I’d like - so that meant we didn’t get to walk the Red Gutter at all this month.

Though we did get to walk along the bridleway to Elston for a fantastic Sunday lunch, so it’s not all bad. And as well as a roast spud or two (on my plate) there was lichen along the way, which is always a win for me!

Lichen filled branches overhanging the fence on the bridleway to Eltson

A carpet of early february snowdrops among small tree trunks — AN EARLY FEBRUARY CARPET OF SNOWDROPS

And just as we approached the village I spotted a carpet of early February snowdrops alongside us in a small wooded area. An absolute joy - in our London life we would spot some in the garden, but to see anything on this scale we’d need to take ourselves off to either a National Trust garden or a woodland a car journey away, so it was quite the treat.

still wet fields with a lot of surface water along Moor lane — FIELDS ALONGSIDE MOOR LANE

A lichen topped post with a ditch full of muddy water behind — MOOR LANE

In fact looking back to the view from the bridge in last month’s post, I think it’s higher - I told you it felt like it’d been a wet, wet month.

A cloudy sunset over a sodden field in Moor Lane — MOOR LANE

Later in the month we walked Moor Lane again and noticed some work in progress to lay hedging - I’m guessing this is a job that’s not done every year given the size of the trunks that have been cut and laid, and is a way of maintaining the land. Part way along willow had been weaved at the top of the stakes, which I’m sure brings strength and structure to the newly laid hedges.

This month we also walked turned off Moor Lane towards Thorpe walking along Main Street which brought a much welcomed pop of colour - which was much needed in a dull month.

the start of this year's valerian growing out of a brick wall in Thorpe — MAIN STREET

BLOSSOM - MOST LIKELY MIRABELLE — MAIN STREET

We walked through Thorpe and out the other side, turning around shortly after this photo of a not-so-recently fallen tree, which is clearly making the most of its new surroundings and outlook on life, something I’m sure many of us can relate to too!

AN UPTURNED TREE (NOT RECENT) AND ITS REGROWTH BEHIND A WOODEN FENCE

This month the skies have been large, they’ve been grey but increasingly blue in the breaks in the rain - and as the month went on, more and more blossom appeared in the hedgerows - it really is nature’s way of letting you know there’s something better around the corner isn’t it?

WHITE BLOSSOM ALONGSIDE THE A46 ON THE BRIDLEWAY TO ELSTON — MUCH PRETTIER THAN THE A46

This pretty white - and most likely blackthorn blossom - seemed to turn the hedgerows frothy as the month continued, and it’s way more prettier than a view of the A46 as we once again walked along the bridleway to Elston. I’m hoping for a drier few months ahead, I’ll let you know how that worked out soon…

It wasn’t until the end of the month that we walked down School Lane to the River Trent. And boy did we choose a spectacular day for that - pink blossom, blue skies and actual warmth from the sun. You could be fooled into thinking it really was spring, but I think it was most likely ‘fools spring’ as it didn’t last.

looking up to pink blossom and a deep blue sky — SCHOOL LANE

the curved brick wall on Church Lane bordering Stoke Hall — CHURCH LANE

A CLOUD REFLECTED IN THE NEWLY FORMED SECOND RIVER ALONGSIDE CHURCH LANE — CHURCH LANE - STILL A FIELD NOT THE RIVER TRENT (SURPRISINGLY)

The photos above taken just past the church on Church Lane show just how wet February was - these puddles - and that seems a complete under-description, are or were fields. Instead they looked as if a new river had formed a mile or so away from the Trent - but it was great to capture the cloud’s reflection in one of them.

The ditches alongside Church Lane were also still full, though slightly less photogenic.

ditches alongside Church Lane remain full of water — CHURCH LANE

Looking over towards Fiskerton this month it’s clear to see that the Trent has not yet returned to its previous course, and the water is even more inland than it was in January. I’m sure many people will be wondering when and if, it will.

Thanks for joining me this month, I’ll be sharing the next instalment around the third week of the month, but in the meantime if you enjoyed this post you may also like some previous series where I revisit the same place - there’s my year in Greenwich Park and remember that time when I followed a tree?