Spring at last.....?

The swallows arrived on Saturday 24th April, exactly the same date as last year. I hope they have had a better winter than we have! The banks of the Speyside Way are now carpeted with spring flowers, particularly primroses and wood anemones, and particularly striking between Craigellachie and Aberlour.

Take a careful look at the wood anemone flowers - though appearing to be white, they are often streaked with pink or purple, especially on the outside, and are carried on a reddish stem. Like many other spring flowers, they turn to face the sun as it moves across the sky. The plant is said to be named after the Greek legend in which Anemos, the wind, sends his namesakes the anemones as heralds of his coming: hence its other common name of 'windflower'.