It's an exciting time here in Ireland, Saint Patrick's Day has just finished, the Irish rugby team won the Six Nations and remains at number one in the world.

It is also the equinox, so we now move into the six months of the year when daylight is longer than darkness.

And while there isn't much in the way of summer colour just yet, the bright and fresh green of spring is on the way.

This week has seen plenty of cold weather again, nothing too cold but enough for ice, frost and, in some parts of Ireland, snow.

So we headed into the mountains, to photograph some of the ice and frost, no snow here.

Here, on the climb towards the ridge and peak there was plenty of white on the hard forestry road.

And with the late afternoon sun was dipping just below that ridge, the perfect time for a starburst.

Spring is here at long last.

The traditional beginning of spring in Ireland is St. Brigid's Day on the the 1st of February, in the meteorological calendar spring starts on the 1st of March and often the passing of the Spring Equinox on the 20th/21st of March is regarded as the true beginning of the season that sees the hedgerows and woodlands of Ireland erupt into life with fresh green carpeting the countryside and urban parks of the Emerald Isle.