Over half of the world’s bluebells are to be found in the UK, I recently learned, so it is very special indeed when these beautiful flowers come into bloom in April/May.

When seen in abundance, as in this photo, I’m sure you’ll agree they are breath-taking!

And you might be wondering why “Brother Bluebell”… It’s a reference to Francis of Assisi’s beautiful poem sometimes known as “The Canticle of the Sun”, where he praises “Brother Sun”, “Sister Moon”, and so on. He feels a kinship with the natural world.

And there’s something like that sense of kinship when your heart beats a bit faster, on seeing bluebells, or suddenly coming across wild deer (they had retreated to the top of the field in this photograph…

…but as I continued through the wood I had a much closer encounter!…)

And at the end of this day’s walk, I was delighted by another tiny goldcrest (see the post ‘Grateful for a Little Thing’ for the last time I encountered one of these, here )

And also a nuthatch…

…who went on, true to its name, to “hack” (“hatch”) a nut into the bark of the tree – this photo captures the moment when the nut was still in the beak…

Our kinship with flora and fauna is precious indeed.

I hope you are inspired to get out and seek some brothers and sisters of your own!

If you live in Shropshire, parking for this walk is beyond the main Wrekin car park, driving away from Wellington. Pull in by a barrier, head off left through the bluebells and follow path up. When you eventually walk alongside the golf course, look out for a path up the bank to the right after 100m or so, then go left at the junction (i.e. not down into the valley), which will take you round to the right eventually where get glimpses of the open field where the deer were. Keep following the path through the wood, then, eventually, right again at a T junction to take you down the hill and back to the road to where you parked.