Lesser Celandine Ficaria verna is a bright, colourful spring flower in the Irish countryside that often carpets woodlands, riverbanks and lower hedgerows between March and May; with its heart-shaped leaves and bright glossy yellow petals it is amongst the first flashes of colour after the long dark months of the Irish winter.

One of the Irish countryside's stars of spring, Lesser Celandine is famous for its sun-worshipping flowers that open in sunshine but rapidly close when in shade.

There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine,

That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;

And, the first moment that the sun may shine,

Bright as the sun himself, 'tis out again!

 

William Wordsworth, THE SMALL CELANDINE from Poems Volume II 1815

Not only was Lesser Celandine one of Wordsworth's favourite flowers, it was carved on his memorial and his statue in Westminster Abbey, it was a flower that meant more to him than the daffodil with which he is most commonly associated.

Native to Ireland, Lesser Celandine can't be mistaken for any other plant with its bright, sun-loving flowers and those heart-shaped leaves, it is a member of the buttercup family.

In olden times it was used as a remedy for haemorrhoids and was known as pilewort for obvious reasons.

The Irish honeybee Apis mellifera mellifera is Ireland's only native honeybee, it's a bee with a dark abdomen and is also known as the European dark bee.

Seen here in late February, just before the end of winter meteorologically-speaking or at the start of Irish spring, this honeybee has been extraordinarily busy collecting nectar and pollen on a bright afternoon just before stormy weather hits.

This week saw an amazing amount of precipitation, particularly over the southwest of Ireland, Munster, where Cork and Clonmel saw extensive flooding. This part of Ireland has already seen above average rainfall for February and recent days have only added to the totals.

I think this hard working bee could sense the miserable few days that the Atlantic weather systems were bringing to Ireland, it's hard for a bee to fly in heavy winds and rain.

It was so laden with pollen from the fresh crocus that it had a hard time flying, clambering rather inelegantly across the flowers unintentionally collecting more pollen before resting on a crocus leaf before heading back to the hive where all that good honey is made and stored.

I haven't as yet seen any bumblebees in 2021 but will of course be keeping a look out.

Thankfully for me, for the bee and beekind there is better weather on the way over the next few days with plenty of sunshine to boost those lacklustre totals for February so far.

We have had a lot of snow so far this year but not all winter days in the Irish mountains are white with deep drifts, here in the Wicklow Mountains deer stop on the frosty-white uplands.

A brief moment of calm before they bound and leap across the terrain deeply cut from centuries of peat or turf cutting.

Herds of deer do roam throughout Ireland, particularly in the mountains such as Wicklow where there is an extensive upland with little human habitation and agriculture.

It doesn't snow that often in Ireland, but it does snow more often than you think, particularly in the meteorological winter months of December, January and February.

The middle of January 2021 has seen some snow falling over much of Ireland but accumulations have been small; lasting, as snow typically does in Ireland, for only a few days at upper elevations and for only a few hours closer to sea level.

The upper slopes of this hill are more snowy than those towards the bottom, the triangle field here as much green as it is white.

It is likely that we will see more snow in 2021 but for the moment warmer weather is on the way.