Country diary: The air carries the faint fragrance of spring awakening | Claire Stares

River Itchen, Eastleigh, Hampshire: As we take our monthly swim, goat willows dip towards the water, and red-tailed bumblebees ping-pong between daffodilsDuring the winter months, we suspend our monthly river swim to avoid disturbing the spawning Atlantic salmon and brown trout, which deposit their eggs in redds - shallow, bowl-like depressions excavated in the chalk streambed. Though the breeding season typically ends in February, we're mindful that there may still be newly hatched alevins hidden in the gravel. At some points during the year, the water level drops so low that it's knee-scrapingly shallow in places but this morning the river is running high and fast after several days of heavy rain, so there's no chance of any accidental contact.The sky is overcast and the mature trees flanking the river are still bare, their branches adorned with orbs of mistletoe, some a metre or more in diameter. But the air carries the faint fragrance of spring awakening - the sweet marzipan scent of blackthorn bursting into flower. Goat willows dip gracefully towards the water, smothered in yellow, pollen-laden catkins. They have attracted several red-tailed bumblebees, while a rotund buff-tailed queen is ping-ponging between a clump of spring snowflakes and a swathe of daffodils. Continue reading...