The rite of spring…

So is it over, the winter that is? One sunny day and it feels like spring has sprung. Let’s not be fooled though. Just because it has turned a little warmer and there’s no snow on the ground, it doesn’t mean that it was the first day of spring yesterday.

The signs are there though. The snowdrops have been out for a while and I’ve seen fluffy white lambkins skipping in the fields (ahhh). The birds are singing too early in the morning, and I spotted a sparrow investigating my nesting box the other day (oooerrr missus). It’s noticeably staying lighter in the evenings and the sun seems to wake up me earlier each morning. And I know I must have dreamt this, but I’m sure I heard the vibrating hum of a returning migrant lawnmower this morning.

Unsurprisingly, the supermarkets are definitely convinced that spring is well and truly here. They’ve started selling packets of easy to-grow-seeds that will sprout, wither, and die on windowsills everywhere. They have hundreds of bunches (almost a host) of golden daffodils on display, and of course Easter eggs, which have had scouting parties out since just Christmas, have now arrived in the shelves full force and ready to take over the country.

Using my country wisdom I see that the catkins are out on my willow and if I look closely enough I can see tiny buds forming (oooerrr missus again).

Boing, it could be spring. I’d better get ready for the gardening bug to bite me again.