Cherry blossom over, daffs turning. Hawthorn bud-burst.

Horse chestnuts, swallows, blackthorn (sloe).

Wild garlic, dog violets, sycamore bud-burst. A cuckoo calling.

Ribwort plantain, common bugle, bird's foot trefoil.

Nettles, yellow archangel. Rabbits.

Arum (cuckoo pint, lords and ladies, bobbin joan) - spadix first formation. Ash trees in flower.

Ground ivy, purslane. Beeches in full leaf. Hornbeams first flower.

Celandine, cuckoo flower, meadow buttercup.

Avens, dog's mercury, harebells, vetch. Otter spoor by the river.

Herb Robert, Bracken unfurling. Snakeshead fritillaries.

Ground ivy (hedge banks). Ash flowers.

Milkwort, cranesbill. Pedunculate oaks - first flower tassels.

Garlic mustard. Brimstone butterflies. Crab apples in bud.

Lady's bedstraw, sorrel, bee orchid. Ash bud-burst.

Borage, self-heal, first wild clematis flowers (old man's beard, traveller's joy).

Brambles. Showers wind from the south-east.

Meadow foxtail; first inflorescence.

Speedwell, ragged robin, meadow saxifrage (rare) One early foxglove.

Yarrow, dropwort, common spotted orchid. [The middle of May]

Common nettle, purslane, dandelion; tormentil (high ground). A lesser stag beetle emerging.

Red campion, windflowers, broom. Commas and one brimstone. Ground elder.

Mallow, pineapple weed, goosegrass ('cleavers').  Swifts, swallows, house martins.

Elderflowers, bittercress, dog roses. Dead nuthatch chick on a bridleway.

Stichwort, cow parsle, wood sorrel (oxalis). Maybugs. Nightjars churring on Babb Hill.

Poppies, deadly nightshade ('dwale' here), goats beard seed-heads. Tawny owls calling, calling.

Lad's love, wayfaring tree, hawthorn blossom almost over. Just after dawn I heard a cuckoo again.

'Rowan', 'Rowan trees are magic. You wouldn't dare to cut one down.  Elder trees sometimes had witches in them.  And hollies were planted in the hedges to show you where to turn the plough.