More firsts for 2025: green alkanet, yellow deadnettle, herb robert – and a small tortoiseshell butterfly. Just a few days ago we read in the paper that they’d suffered their worst year on record – and there he was, feeding on dandelions as though everything was fine! We’re enjoying a late-morning walk from Willey, along the lane through the Smithies, up Round Hill and back down through the woods along Ned’s Lane, which after a particularly muddy autumn and winter, is almost dry along its length. (Please could someone dig out that spring and divert its water off the path…)

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