Monday, April 28, 2008

Northern Hemisphere Spings to life

Spring has had a late showing in the Northern Hemisphere this year, with winter temps keeping things sleeping well into April.
In warmer areas things have are under way now, though in some parts things are only just getting started.
In Berlin, pictured below, Cherry blossoms are in full show with many deciduous plants greening well though, as you can see, some have only started budding.



In my travels I came across a unusual sight.
The tree pictured below is beginning its regrowth for the spring.
When I first saw it I thought the shapes to be a collection of nests.
Shapes like this are common in Australia after bushfires, as regrowth begins, though no fires have affected these plants and, as I saw many, must be a common and usual event for this species.





The picture below is the view from Schloss Burg.
The area is at about 400m above sea level, and the forests are still to show significant regrowth.



Its not all winter here though, as the following blooms demonstrate.



Spring is underway in the Northern Hemisphere, and I will post more as it progresses.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Hiatus soon rectified

There has been a hiatus in the postings of late and this is soon to be rectified.

I have the opportunity to cover the natural world in Europe for 2 months and plan many a forest walk in order to capture the onset of spring here.

Postings may be sporadic due to the nature (no pun intended) of my travels, though I will do my best to provide interesting insights and begin with a shot from the beginning of my 22 hour journey to get here.

The Southern Highlands shown in the distance under scattered cloud.