Country diary: Winter greens above, spring greens below | Amanda Thomson

Abernethy Forest, Cairngorms: Beneath the pine canopy, one of the first auguries of the coming season is poking through the undergrowth - wood sorrelThere's more birdsong in the pinewoods today. Great spotted woodpeckers have been drumming since the beginning of the year, squadrons of redpolls are still drifting from birch to birch, and interspersing coal and blue tit song is the beautiful tinkle of cresties. I'm always surprised, if I've been away, how very resolutely green the pinewoods remain throughout the winter. Though the birches and alders gain a beautiful maroon hue in these months, the pines, like the junipers, hold on to their colour. Despite the gale-force winds, the paler green of lichens still clings on to branches, though more are scattered along the rusty pine?needle-strewn paths now.Despite it being just February, I'm heartened to see signs of another spring green starting to emerge. Beautifully soft, clover-like leaves of wood sorrel are beginning to peek up from the undergrowth. This delicate plant that used to be known as cuckoo sorrel or cuckoo's mea was, like other plants, so named because its flowers are often associated with the return of the cuckoo. Another story tells us that the cuckoo got its call after eating this plant. I know that I'll be waiting a wee while still before these beautiful flowers sprinkle these woodlands, but their leaves are symbolic of lighter days to come. Continue reading...