4th April from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

Today has all the hallmarks of spring: the blue sky, the soothing sea. We should be out here, lounging and enjoying the warmth but the icy wind still denies us that pleasure. Many of the flowers that gave up weeks ago are making a concerted effort to get on with things. The celandines which have been closed up tight in the cold have taken a chance and burst out in golden masses among the clifftop grasses. And today, the very first bluebell. The crow with the poorly wing seems to have survived another winter. Although he is shunned by his family he still manages. I think, the fact that he allowed me to get close enough to take a series of portraits means that he has become reliant on human contact for food and company.

From 4th April 2022

Up close, the flowers of gorse can look a sharp, acid yellow, but en masse they throw an extrordinary golden cloak over the miles of cliff face here. They accompany you at shoulder height along the clifftop path but look down at the floor of the old quarry workings and you see one of the great spectacles of the West Cliff - drifts of gold, A great shining bowl enough to satisfy any Midas. The air is quieter but still fresh. The bay is of a pale green under a formless grey sky. But spring pushes on. Ivy is covered in a mass of small, fresh leaves and shoots, contrasting with the dark green of the old leaves. In the grassy banks there is red dead nettle, yarrow and little pink campions. #bournemouth #westcliffgreen #spring #April

From 4th April 2011

Iittle lobster boat just shooting pots out in the bay beautifully framed by two pine trees. If I had a camera I would be a photographer. Come to that if I was a photographer I'd probably have a camera.