Jumping dog violet slips into boulder’s jaws

When we followed this path beside the river Tees a month ago the first shoots of wood anemones were forcing their way through frosted soil. This morning there were carpets of leaves but almost all their flowers had run to seed.

There is urgency about woodland flora in spring, a race to bloom and be pollinated before the closing of the tree leaf canopy plunges the ground into shadow. Latecomers to the competition are inventive in their move to claim a niche.