Boing, Boing- The Spring Is Here!
Written by Phil Brown, Badger Bushcraft Blog Wednesday, 21 March 2012 15:47
I’m not too sure that “boing, boing” perfectly describes or heralds the arrival of spring or that a day after the vernal equinox we are right to proclaim the “spring is here”, however it is my birthday and has always traditionally been the start of spring in my family for more years than I care to count.
As my fellow “March 21st’ers” will know we were born on the first day of the zodiacal year which begins with Aries and I, for the most part, exhibit a good proportion of Arian traits – except the woolly coat and horns!
With some self indulgence I did manage to sneak a few hours out from the office and give myself an “extended lunch hour”, lunch is normally a sandwich in the Land Rover or bowl of soup in front of the office computer. Today, however, I went for a walk with Inca and my camera. We wandered around the Kentish village of Egerton, where we are based, with me looking at the plants bursting forth with new life and Inca with patiently walking by my side.
To me spring is epitomised with the arrival of one of my favourite flowers which is lady's smock (Cardamine pratensis). This delicate and subtle member of the Brassicaceae family of plants, that includes broccoli, cabbages, horseradish, turnip, mustard, etc., tells me spring is here and to be explored and enjoyed before we enter the summer.
At this time of year lady’s smock, otherwise know as milk maids and cuckoo flower will feature heavily on our wild food list for quite a few weeks and again this year we will be making some of the “Monsawabi”, as featured in our Wild Food section of the Badger Bushcraft Blog last April.
Keep your eye out for lady’s smock as it is a stunning plant and enjoy getting out and exploring spring - it's never here long enough!
