One Spring Day

Everyone is waiting for Spring to arrive.  The signs are there; splashes of colour are rising above cold and sodden earth and we've had hints of the changing of the seasons on the breeze, but rain has been plentiful and still, the frosts persist.  The tree pictured above appears tormented, stripped of life and reaching for the light.

I've had my annual battle with Lotte's dreadlocks which manage to conceal themselves successfully in her winter coat until they are the size of ping pong balls.  We're getting there.  She's feeling "summer ready" now and was happy enough to pose in front of the mirror for me.

Last night offered some promise in the shape of a beautiful Pink April Moon...

...and, as Good Friday dawned, in these parts the weather was very good; no wind, wall to wall blue skies and the mercury reaching a very pleasant 14.5 degrees.  After a chilly start, I put some washing on and headed into the garden to take some cheery Easter photos using some novelty chocolates before they disappear for good.

Things quickly took a sinister turn....run, rabbit, run!

That's better.

Spring's small pleasures include being able to peg washing out on the line and have it dry, leaving behind an outdoor scent that's impossible to replicate.

Here's the bamboo as glimpsed through my hot pink honeycomb blanket hanging out to dry this morning.

After lunch we headed out over the hills for some exercise, stopping only to capture the blossom..

 ...blue sky (Gareth shedding his jacket at the top and tossing it into the air)...

...and Greater Starwort growing on the grass verges.

Still not convinced Spring is here?  Well this particular mother and son, happily posing in the sunshine on our descent, will tell you otherwise.  Renewal and rebirth.  Spring has arrived!

We have a weekend of bark chip path formation and entertaining in store and hopefully more of the same from the weather gods.  Happy Easter!