If you are waiting for spring to properly arrive before heading outside, you might already be missing it.
March rarely makes a big announcement. It just quietly gets on with things. Buds begin to open, flowers appear where yesterday there were none, and suddenly the landscape is full of little signs that the seasons are shifting.
One of the joys of heading out each day for my photo challenge is seeing these changes unfold bit by bit. Often they are small moments that would be easy to miss if you were not looking for them.
The photos here are all from March. Either from the first few days of this year, or from the previous three Marches since my challenge began. Even in that relatively short window there has been plenty to discover.
Across those walks I have come across bright camellia blooms, magnolia flowers beginning to open, and delicate peach blossom appearing along the branches.
Some finds feel a little more special. I was lucky enough to stumble across a patch of snake’s head fritillaries, although to be fair they were in pots beside our pond.
And sometimes nature seems to be having a bit of fun with us. One opening bud I photographed looks remarkably like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. Once you see it, it is difficult not to imagine it suddenly shouting “Feed me”.
Looking a little closer can reveal just as much. A close up of larch flowers reminded me how much is happening quietly up in the trees, while a cluster of fungus growing from the side of a trunk showed that even the older parts of the woodland are busy with life.
And then, every so often, you get one of those moments that reminds you just how lucky you are to be out there.
On one walk I came across a magnificent stag standing among the trees, antlers proudly on display. Encounters like that always feel like a real privilege. They cannot be planned and they never happen if you stay indoors.
You may not see all of these things if you head out this March. To be honest, I have been incredibly fortunate with one or two of them, especially the stag.
But there is one certainty.
If you do not go out to look, you definitely will not see anything at all.
So do not wait for the perfect day. March is rarely perfect. It brings a mix of sunshine, cloud, wind and the occasional shower, sometimes all within the same afternoon.
Head out anyway.
Take a walk around your local park, wander along a quiet path, or simply spend a few minutes looking a little closer at the trees and plants near your home.
You might not find a stag.
But you might just spot the first signs that spring has already arrived.