Tag: Spring

Frost and sunshine

Today was beautifully lit by Spring sunlight which quickly melted through the sharp frost which had whitened the grass.

This afternoon I went into Oxford, stopping on the way to pick some pussy-willow on an impulse as they caught my eye, back-lit in the lane.

I parked in St Giles and walked into town which looked wonderful.

Here the forsythia simply glows with the light. I wonder if the cyclist realised the colour match when parking? Continue reading “Frost and sunshine”

Signs of Spring again

It’s an every day, ordinary drop of rain water on the hairy leaf of a common-all-garden lupin leaf, but it caught my eye, glistening in the light.

Lots of gardening today, but the sky was overcast, so that my solar-powered radio failed me and I had to collect the old battery-powered one from the bedside! Weeding and ‘Weekend Womens’ Hour’ and an occasional cuppa. Better than shopping any day.

Now that a lot of the winter debris has been cleared the flower beds look a lot more Springlike.

Garden maintenance

I remember reading once that 80% of gardening is the equivalent of housework…. keeping things tidy and doing the routine stuff.
In some ways this is a fair analysis: yes, the garden has to be kept tidy and ordered, the grass cutting and weeding are necessary…. but as comparisons go it’s rather incomplete.

Indoors the floor is washed and gets foot-printed again, the carpet is hoovered and gets bitty again. The toilet is cleaned and gets….. well you get the picture.

In the garden, especially at this time of the year each action brings on an even bigger reaction (sorry Newton, your law doesn’t work in the garden)

Today I have mainly been gardening. Well for three and a half hours. I got out the hoover lawn mover and did the grass, then trimmed the edges. Suddenly the garden looked sharper and more cared for. Where I didn’t cut the lawn, just where the snow drops are finishing and the crocus are boldly doing their thing the longer grass looks right: bright and strong against the colours.The bumble bees were out in force, exploring the flowers and getting covered in pollen.

Then I started on the borders, accompanied for a while by radio four and ‘Gardeners question Time.’ (My wind-up / solar-powered radio is my gardening companion.)

I cleared away all last season’s growth which had died back during the winter. And as I cleared new tips of growth were pushing up through the warmed soil giving me that feeling of hope that comes each Spring.

Of course time ran out before the jobs were finished. I had to come in to have a bath, scrub behind my fingers nails and assemble a fish pie before trotting back into Oxford for a poetry reading which was very entertaining and inspirational.

And I returned from the poetry reading to the rest of the fish pie and a glass of wine. Pretty perfick. Oh… and a slice of collapsed banoffee pie! (Not bad, with the topping scraped off.)

And in the morning  when I look out of the window I shall have a huge feeling of accomplishment which I NEVER get from housework.

 

January 14th – a brief nature report, for near Oxford, UK

Today when I opened the curtains at about 8:45, I was greeted with white scenery. A hoar frost had covered everything and as the sun came up it made a wonderful sight. Soft yellowed light, long shadows. But no photos. I hadn’t had my first cup of tea.

Later, after Scout’s Judo run and a little light shopping we came back at about mid-day to find the little garden in our communal driveway still in shade and therefore still frosted.

Continue reading “January 14th – a brief nature report, for near Oxford, UK”

Twitchy on Sunday Mornings?

I’m not a twitcher, not really – but I am interested and my friend, Craig who helped me with the swift boxes had offered to lead a walk this morning helping a group of us identify birds by their calls.

“We’re meeting at 10am,” he said, “at the top of the lane. But don’t forget that  is will be an hour earlier body clock wise.” Craig has a wonderfully measured approach to life. He considers things and speaks with gentleness and authority.

Now I’m not an early riser, if I don’t have to be – and the weekend is catch up time – but I really thought 10 am on a Sunday morning, even though it would feel like 9 am wouldn’t be too difficult.
I hadn’t taken into account Cycloman’s schedules. Maybe because I hadn’t actually been told them?
On Friday a colleague asked about his cycling plans this weekend: would he be doing the Islip one? I didn’t know.
So when he arrived home on Friday I asked. Continue reading “Twitchy on Sunday Mornings?”

Here’s to Spring

It is bitterly cold out there today. Only -1 up to 2°C, so not as cold as it was leading up to Christmas – but the wind is biting.There’s a thick layer of ice on my wheelbarrow which filled up with water a little while a go. Spring seems so far off… so I was very pleased to snap some Spring like images this afternoon. They are a little dull as I arrived home from work after the sun had hidden itself again – but at least it was still light . Continue reading “Here’s to Spring”