Year of Grace, Day 239. Early spring flowers

Whenever we go for a walk, wherever it is, my eyes are often cast down, ever in anticipation of some tiny flower or fungus at ground level. It always makes my day, and the walk too, if I find something already in bloom, this early in spring.

On the foothills that look out onto the village of Pla de Corrals is a designated ecological reserve, and there were some early ground irises – no taller than my thumb – of a wondrous blue colour. (The colour in these photos has not been enhanced, btw.)

Here’s a closer look at this miniature beauty.

And on a hike by a side path near a limestone tor on the way to neighbouring Barxeta (where most Pla de Corrals residents shop at the two supermarkets there), I spied a ground orchid. Just the one. Truly marvellous to come upon it in an unlikely spot.

A short distance away from the orchid was a group of parasitic plants. They are equally lovely.

Although the mornings and evenings are still rather wintery, midday temperatures are rising, and I am looking forward to more spring beauties coming up in the foothills near the ecological reserve.