The weatherman said that it’s spring a couple of weeks ago, although it is quite hard to tell some days.

But the snowdrops in the garden have now gone over and the daffodils are fully out.

Looking further, not much has changed?

Getting closer: it’s actually changing quite rapidly.

Primroses and celandines are out now too.

The little dark brown, almost black, buds on the wych elms have been transformed through dark red blobs to open flowers. In profusion on some trees.

Even from 100 yards away, the trees have changed, despite no leaves appearing yet.
So I’m trying to get some flower photos……Not that easy!

Currently, I’m refusing to pick a twig and take it home, so I’m battling with the breeze, a really low depth of field from using a telephoto lens, and access.

Access because the low branches have long gone, courtesy of browsing animals, AKA deer.
I got a couple of shots in Lochinver village a few days ago, followed by one in Clashnessie, but I really want one in a more natural environment, so I headed off to Inchnadamph.

The first hurdle is that it’s clearly a later season over there, and all but one tree are way behind those that I visited earlier, nearer the coast.

Hanging precariously over Loch Assynt, I added to my flower-foto tally.

But, whilst I’m here…..

I’ll check out a few previously visited trees, and look for another one: a grid reference that I’ve not been to yet.

On the way, there’s a grove of trees that might be worth a look; nothing previously recorded here, but promising, I think.

Loads of birch, and getting towards the far end, running out of trees, nearly giving up…..

There it is!

A pretty big one too.

So I get my camera out and make its acquaintance.

I also meet three ticks, my first this year.

I brush those off my trousers and hope that there’s no more lurking. Guess I’ll find out tomorrow.

New tree in the bag, I walk along the hillside to the target grid reference, and meet another one, in quite a challenging place on a limestone crag.

Either side of it there are two nice surprises: aspens with catkins about to break open.

Aspens don’t flower very often, so this is quite a good discovery in itself.

Finding a way to climb up the crag, I get to the top of the tree on another terrace, and further up, trees and ivy are all over the cliff; not a familiar sight at all.

At the end of the day, I did get another flower photo, albeit not enough to satisfy me, but the day scored really well with other features thrown in for good measure.