Spring has sprung...

Spring has sprung:

the skylarks sing;

and off my nose

the hailstones ping!

Ok, so the skylarks - incidentally these are the first I've heard singing this year - were doing their best to fill the air with promise and living, and it was wonderful to hear. Deep in a wood from out of sight, every now and again, came the soft deep call of a raven. She will be incubating and even from over 1km the contact calls were distinctly musical and unlike anything a crow or rook can make. I will return when the air is warm and the chicks have hatched to see exactly where she has built her nest. I suspect it might be in a Scot's pine, probably an old nest from previous years. As I stood watching, the sun vanished behind a big cloud, the sky turned black and a multitude of hailstones pined off my nose; this was Spring in Scotland alright!