The long month of March lurches between winter and spring in huge, erratic strides. Longer days, stronger sun and even moments of warmth are interspersed with bitter winds, biting rain and winter clart. But the signs are clear that Spring is ascendant. Our oystercatchers have returned from the coast and fly noisily over the farm, the piping of curlews hangs in the early morning mist and on sunny days queen bumble bees are out looking for nest sites. The primroses and celandine are in flower and the first buds of hawthorn are tentatively opening into leaves. There’s a subtle but unmistakable hint of green slowly spreading over the land as life wakes up.

On the farm, our attention is shifting from the winter planting of trees and hedges to the imminent growing season. The greenhouse is filling with seedlings and soon we’ll have lambs leaping around the fields as the cycle of life begins again. Its an invigorating time of the year that inspires optimism and reassurance in an otherwise uncertain world.