Sitting in the sun outside the Fleece at Bretforton I spotted 3 housemartins - first I've seen this year. A few minutes later the man at the next table pointed out some very high-flying swifts, around half a dozen - again a first this year.
The warm weather produced some wonderful smells - broom in flower, May blossom in sufficient quantity to fill the air briefly with its heavy scent and bluebells in a bit woodland. The combination of broom & free-range pigs in Danzey Green was an entertaining mixture
.
The day's treat was a grass snake crossing the road in front of me in Ullenhall. It was mature: length of a serpentine wriggly thing is not easy to estimate, but maybe a metre or so. And it was beautiful. The sun shone from its scales. It moved across the road with an effortless fluid sinuousity, that disguised its speed. It straightened out a bit to cross the grass verge and disappeared through the hedge. It was all over in seconds - less time than it takes my pocket camera to boot up
. But I suspect it was a once in a lifetime sighting.