Spring has arrived Buxton Heath. There are more green color now. Since all the conservation work for the year has been finished, we simply walked around to see the plants, insects, etc. We also made cages for protecting some delicate young plants of rare species. Unfortunately to me they were just a few green leaves. Therefore ignorant people like me and animals like rabbits may tread on them if they are not protected.

Buxton Heath is now much much less boggy than before, and therefore much much safer to walk on the mire. However I am always the only person among the group who is so scared of stepping into the mire - a mire-phobia symdrome which is incurable for me!! Fortunately I was safe through this time again!! Thank god!

 I dont like reptiles and insects. But the warden is the absolute opposite and most of the people in the group like these creatures as well. When the warden showed me the snowworm, wasp or other insects, he would like to say “it is lovely”, but I usually took a look of the creature and said “oh, ugly!” We have put some tin plates in the area to attract lizards, snakes, etc. Snakes look particularly horrible to me. This time we found some grass snakes but fortunately they were not big so less horrible.       

I live in the Village - one of the student hall residences of the UEA. Why is it called the Village? After the walk behind the Village today, I believe I have found the answer.

The Broads is a network of waterways and the Broads in Norfolk is famous in the U.K. for sightseeing.

This time, I went with the UEA conservation society for canoeing in the Norfolk Broads. As I am clumsy at rowing and sports, I of course had joined a team who looked good at rowing - a strong man (although with an excusable big belly) and an engergetic young man (although he looks much better in academics than sports). Actually, I had “forced” them to let me join them because they were very nice people. Maybe they regretted later for their decision because they kept reminding me to paddle harder otherwise the canoe would drift without enough speed.

Unexpectedly, we found some fallen trees in the water blocking our way. So people used whatever way they would think workable to cross over the fallen trees - climbing over the fallen trees, carrying the canoe onshore… Whatever way they had chosen, there must be some people who would be ”sacrificed” if they were very brave - falling into the water! 

The Broads water was quiet. Swans sometimes led your way and sometimes took off or landed the water before you. “Cuckoo”… “cuckoo”… cuckoos could not wait telling us they were there too.

Life is amazing! Outside my window, there is a tree. It is interesting and amazing to see it from full growth in summer, to bareness in winter, and then freshly new green leaves in spring. The speed of growth is so fast that three days ago I could still see the church behind it, but now its new leaves have completely blocked the view of the church (see the contrast of the two pictures on the left below with the other two on the right below). Chance will be missed if we do not grasp it.

Now I know spring can be like autumn – trees displaying different colors, red, yellow, light green, fresh green, dark green, colorful and attractive.

Sometimes, the sky is blue and dotted with cotton-like clouds, so cute and interesting.

Running on a grassland covered with bright yellow dandelion flowers is like a dream and romantic! Running and at the same time watching the clouds moving and converging in the sky is so enjoyable!

Nature always surprises me. Two days ago I was still running on a grassland covered with yellow flowers (dandelion flowers). Today, the grassland was blanketed with white dots (white dandelion clocks - globe of white fine filaments formed when the dandelion flowers matures). What a beautiful and sudden change!