My sinuses have been absolutely killing me lately. I’m not even sure how it happens, I swear whenever I get a blocked nose I always make sure to blow it into a tissue rather than sniff it back up, and yet I get horrible sinusitis every single time. Oh well.

Anyway, in order to help myself feel better I have been taking everything very slowly lately. I only work for a few hours a day and I make sure to take frequent breaks so I don’t overdo it. That leaves me with a lot of free time for some classic rest and relaxation. That brings me to today…

Today I went for a little walk around my neighbourhood, nothing I haven’t done before now that I’ve been living here for six months (can you believe it?!). However, this time I decided to go off the beaten trail a little bit and explore some of the side trails. Here I came across some new spring flowers I wanted to introduce:

Crocus Tommasinianus – Early Crocus

The Early Crocus is as it’s name suggests a very early-spring blooming crocus. They are native to Central Europe but can be found almost anywhere in the northern hemisphere around February. In fact if you really go anywhere near a woodland today I bet you’ll see a whole swarm of these.

These kinds of Crocuses (Croci? (No, I checked it’s Crocuses)) also tend to grow in areas where there are limestone deposits, so great news if you want to make some concrete!

Galanthus Plicatus – Snowdrop

Honestly, I’m not much of a patriot, but can you even call yourself British if you don’t know what a snowdrop is? Funnily enough though they aren’t even slightly native to the UK and are actually originally from the area surrounding the Black Sea. However, similar to the Early Crocus, it is almost impossible to go to any British woodland around this time and not see a snowdrop!

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I continued with my walk through some fields which I’d only seen from a distance before and that’s when I saw it. A sign that said:

DANGER – DEEP WATER

Sadly, I didn’t bring my swimming costume so no quick dip today, but I do always love just gazing out over a body of water. This one didn’t dissapoint.

The Pond with no Name

Alas, despite my intense research, I couldn’t find if this pond had a name or not. Maybe I should come up with a name for it myself? The pond was in the shape of like a teardrop, maybe Teardrop Pond?

Anyway, I had no idea this pond was even here, and I live all of about half a kilometer away from it. It’s always nice to find something new so close to home, really puts everything in a new perspective!

The pond was home to a lot of ducks, but also a lot of mud so I continued to walk. I followed the pond to it’s feed, a small stream leading away from the student village. The woodland here was dense so I had to be careful not to fall into the stream, but soon enough I found a lovely spot to stop and read my book. WHICH MEANS ITS TIME FOR…

READING CORNERRRRRRR

I’m actually still reading the same book I was reading last time. What? I’ve been busy, sue me! But it’s really fascinating though, shocking how much of this book is in popular thought without people even knowing.

Today I read the short story: “The Cask of Amontillado” which (spoilers) is all about a guy tricking his snobbish friend into coming to find some fine wine in his cellar and then chaining him up in there to die. Poe wasn’t exactly known for his cheer now was he.

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Once I finished my story, I decided to sit and think if any of my friends would ever chain me up in a crypt to die. Thankfully, the cute birds flying around helped me come to the conclusion that none of them would, thanks birds! I finished up my time by the water and threw a big log in just for good measure.

SPLOOSH

Despite the fact that it is now sort of spring, I was starting to get a bit cold, so I decided to head back home. I walked back through a different field than the one I came, and luckily saw another new plant to write about for my collection.

Prunus Cerasus – Sour Cherry Blossom

These trees are just starting to blossom around this time of year so I have timed my walk perfectly. Cherry blossom trees are trees that cherries grow on, sadly this one hasn’t grown any yet but in a few weeks to months there’ll be way more cherries than anyone will ever need.

The cherries from this tree are edible, but as the name suggests incredibly sour compared to regular cherries!

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Finally, I made it home. It was a delightful outing and by doing all of that and writing this post I’ve almost completely forgotten about my sinus pain…

…Almost 😦

Catch you next time!

Cassie