6 April 2020. Just finished G&T with friends in Cambridge. Zoom is great fun. Now working through our address book to select tomorrow’s victims.

Walking through Little Wood with the dog today. Cowslips just beginning to flower on the banks near the astro. Anemones sparkling across the woodland floor like stars, with a scatter of violets among them. Primroses nestling against tree roots. A bank leading to the stream covered in yellow celandine and bluebells.

The bluebells have been coming into flower for the last two weeks. I saw my first of this year on the day not-quite-lock-down started. Today there was just the hint of that delicious hyacinth scent hanging in the air. Another week and they will be spectacular.

Noticed today how lovely ash flowers are. A crazy fringe of deep purple stems. Near the car park a female conifer covered in minute red flowers. And all along the path by Smithsons’ the apple trees are coming into bloom, a haze of pink and white blossom. The dog had a good time chasing scents as well. Found where the fox had been – bath time when we got home.

This evening news that the Prime Minister is in intensive care. I read up on the symptoms. There is no cure. Good nursing can only help the body’s own immune system to battle the virus. Each patient is on their own. I saw a comment that COVID-19 is nature’s revenge for climate change and exploitation. I saw nature today. It doesn’t look very vengeful.

The moon is nearly full tonight and so bright that it was casting shadows on the ground. The air is certainly much clearer. Is the sky really a deeper blue?

© Clare Sargent