Spring Week at Dixon Hill: 4

Pussy willow always reminds me of the school nature table when I was five or six years old. It always seemed to be springtime on the nature table.

There would be tall stems of pussy willow and catkins; paint pots filled with fistfuls of snowdrops and garden-plucked daffodils; and tadpoles swimming in jam jars of murky water.

Stroking the velvet buds of the willow felt miraculous then.

It still does now.

Spring Week at Dixon Hill: 3

You knew it was coming, didn’t you? Spring…..Easter..…well, it was inevitable. Here’s the one you’ve been waiting for - LAMBS!

These four woolly bundles of joy have been acting as a screensaver on my laptop for the last week or two, and I break out in a smile every time I catch sight of them. In fact, I defy anyone to look into those curious faces and not be filled with every last ounce of yellow zinginess that spring can endow.

May you be blessed with bounce and boing and rapturous high spirits this Tuesday!

Spring Week at Dixon Hill: 2

Last week when, according to the calendar, we were still in the grip of winter, the heavens were sunny and bright and filled with tantalising promises of softer days. Now that we’re past the equinox and spring is entitled to burst out all over, it’s decided instead to skulk back to wherever it came from and let winter rule the roost a bit longer. Today there was a chill wind, dreary rain and low, leaden skies.

Happily, the first garden flowers of the year won’t be fooled and are determined to bloom regardless. Also happily, I shot these pictures a couple of days ago before the blooms were battered and the photographer bedraggled.

So delight in hellebores, snowdrops, primroses, crocus, violets and tiny tête-à-tête daffodils. The heralds of flower-filled months to come.

P.S. Today I'm taking part in Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary at Little Red House.  Why not pop on over and take a look at some of the other lovely mosaics you'll find links to there?

Spring Week at Dixon Hill: 1

It’s here and it’s official: spring has sprung!

This afternoon, I watched eleven small lambs charge about in one mad gang - dashing as a pack helter-skelter from one end of the field to the other, back legs bouncing out at crazy angles like topsy-turvy kangaroos. They were ridiculously excited; the very epitome of spring.

I came home and arranged long stems of pussy willow in a jug; then filled the house with daffodils by way of celebration. Then I sallied forth once more to deliver posies of spring flowers to elderly and sick friends.

I’m planning to carry on the celebrations all week by posting images of spring here on the blog. So check in daily for a shot of new life and optimism.

The Same View: March Update

So this is the winner of our poll and gets to represent March: the third in our series of twelve photographs.

Here's a reminder of the first two...

January February