It’s finally daylight again for my early morning runs so it’s nice to have a better view of the countryside around me. I can see flowers in the hedgerows now and my mind is filled with brewing possibilities. Primrose and wood anemone were flowering and I think I saw the first milkmaids. I think primrose is the only one that’s edible. Wood anemones are part of the buttercup family, which are generally toxic. I was also reminded of where I picked meadowsweet for last year’s saison. There was a dense fog at the bottom of the valley, submerging it as if an ice-age had returned. It really brought the contours to life. What is normally another indistinct hill in the landscape was now a sharply defined spur enveloped by cloud. The dawn chorus is now at the same time as the run, so another seasonal treat.

The test tubes are looking promising. The catkins are certainly more active but they’re bigger and dustier so no surprise really. Bubbles are forming on the surface and the catkins have trapped submerged bubbles. Some of the tubes are cloudier. There is a bit of sediment at the bottom of the tubes. I gave them another shake and one tube hissed pleasingly.