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Thanks to Nigel Phillips for these photos and optimistic words:

"Spring has now arrived. Despite all of the early signs I feel it never really appears in Gloucestershire until the first Severn Bores of the year which were this weekend, another 10 metre tide Monday morning. 8.56 at Newnham and 10.11 at Stonebench. Follow this with frogs doing what comes naturally when the warmer weather arrives, its taken the frogs in my pond in Quedgeley 7 days since they first paired up to lay frog spawn which appeared in the pond Saturday morning with more today. My bees are now flying every day, they waited until 2pm today before venturing out to collect pollen. I have seen slow worms and newts as well on the allotment in the last 10 days. The leaves are also showing on the blackcurrant bushes and elder, later this week I expect the Hawthorn buds already bursting, to break as well, all we need is a more sunshine!"

Keep them coming...cummings@bbc.co.uk