Tall and gnarled, the crab apple tree leant over the path. Its white and pink flower buds were just hours from opening, perhaps even minutes. A blackcap sang from the deeps of the tree’s upper branches. Could there be a finer double act?

Well, there’s plenty of competition at the moment, as I found out when the sun suddenly came out. It had been a chilly, grey morning, but all at once the world seemed full of butterflies. The orange tips were flickering around the lady’s smock flowers, which is one of their main food plants.