Signs of Spring 2014

These beautiful crocuses are one of the first flowers of spring.

During the week we were participating in a Twitter project with schools from around Ireland The title of the project was Signs of Spring 2014. An tEarrach is the Irish word for Spring and we had to use #antearrach in our tweets. Here are some of the pictures that we used in out tweets.
by Joyce Awo

These tiny daffodils are called Tete a Tete

Around the city you will see thousands of daffodils in bloom in many gardens and parks.

The long pendulous catkins are the male part of the Alder tree.

The catkins come on the Alder tree before the leaves. The long pendulous catkins are the male part of the Alder tree and you will notice yellow pollen on your hands if you touch them. The tiny red catkins are the female part.  They grow into miniature cones containing seeds that you can still see on the tree. The tree is pollinated by the wind.

According to some plant books the catkins are edible but they have a very bitter unpleasant taste and are likely to make you very ill.

Many young animals such as lambs and calves are born in spring.The magpies near our school are starting to build their nest. They build their nests in deciduous trees. They use 600 twigs to build their nest and it takes them 60 days to build their nest.
Click Signs of Spring 2014 to read how schools around Ireland recorded signs of Spring in their ares.