Spring is sprung!
'Sproinngg...' (Bouncing Rabbit tea towel by Ham, from http://www.athomer.co.uk)*
Ah yes, the annual Spring posts are beginning to return to the blogosphere, like swallows heralding summer. Scotland is seeing an earlier Spring than it has for several years, thanks to our mild winter. In the last week of February last year, the snowdrops last year were only just starting to bloom. This year, the snowdrops have pretty much been killed off by the past week’s unusually warm temperatures (15 degrees yesterday! That’s like July for some years here!). Since the snowdrops began flowering in the first week of January, though, it feels right for them to be giving way to the daffodils now.
Ah, the daffodils. Every year, I hope that there might be one in flower for St. David’s Day on the first of March; or at least one for the birthday of a Welsh friend on the fifth. Some years, there are only a handful by the middle of the month. This year, they began flowering in February, within the past week.
They are joined by crocuses which – for once – the pheasants and mice haven’t eaten. Isn’t this just one of the most cheering sights, the first bright colour of the year?
The green spring grass is coming up,
in the woods, the bluebell shoots are pushing up through last year’s leaf litter,
and the hardy young cherry tree which amazed us by flowering on New Year’s Day is still producing fresh blossoms.
In fact, I am noticing all the same signs of the world waking up that I brought to your attention last year, only three weeks earlier this time. (And last year’s Spring was about a fortnight earlier than 2010’s, so we are doing well.)
Horse Chestnut opening, 3 weeks earlier than 2011
Elder
Flowering currant, one of the best smells of Spring
There’s no doubt about it: whatever the weather may do in March, Spring has indubitably sprung.
(* I wrote this post in my favourite book shop cafe, The Watermill in Aberfeldy. Its companion homeware shop, Homer, is selling tea-towels with this very Spring-y bouncing rabbit design by Ham (www.hammade.com) as part of its new season range of goodies. No, they’re not sponsoring me: I just loved the rabbit!)
You’re ahead of us. We’re still waiting for the first daffodil to flower here and although the snowdrops started earlier the crocuses are pretty much the same as last year. All still lovely though!
I think we’ve generally had better weather than the west this winter. Those big weather systems of rain and snow off the Atlantic have usually petered out before they reached us: our only problem was the gales. Isn’t it great to see the spring flowers though. Whenever they arrive they are always welcome!
You are even ahead of me in North Bucks! How amazing. So good to see spring flowers, I have to admit that the crocuses are really exciting me this year, the bright orange zinging out of the lilac petals.
I’m loving the crocuses too, with their blazing colour contrasts. Some years we have literally had none at all: the pheasants peck them off as soon as their shoots come up.
England has – for once – had a much colder winter than most of Scotland, I think, and my family was rather envious of the good snowfalls experienced by the Home Counties. I suppose the upside of a mild winter for us has been this unusually early Spring.
GLORIOUS! Between your droll little rabbit on a trampoline and your beautiful photos, you have truly brightened my day. Thanks for giving me hope that spring can’t be too far off, even here in the frozen tundra.
I’m so glad to have brightened your day! It’s coming, it’s coming, even to the Midwest, I promise! Meanwhile I’d love to see some more photos of your ‘frozen tundra’: you may be heartily sick of the cold and snow, but I have really missed it this year! (Too many exclamation marks! 🙂 )
There’s no such thing as too many exclamation marks!!!!! And if you want snow, your wish is my command. Tomorrow’s post is for you, DB!!!!!!!! xo
I can’t believe you have daffodils! I’ve been so enjoying the crocuses (croci?!) that have popped up in the last few days here that I didn’t even think to look for daffs. The first signs of spring are so special after the darkness of winter – thanks for such lovely pics!
How funny, I always want to say ‘croci’ too. I blame too much Latin at school! Hope you find some daffs soon. 🙂
Gorgeous photos, DB! You’re ahead of me in Mid-Wales too. There are daffodils out in the valley in sunny spots, but ours are still just green spears, though I did see the first primroses on the lane up from the village on Thursday. 🙂 It’s been gloriously mild for the last few days, but has turned colder and wet again today. Sigh….
Thank you, Perpetua. What a wonderful sight the first primroses are. Funnily enough, our wild primroses always flower well after the first spring flowers, usually in mid to late April. Some years, I’ve even spotted a few still flowering in early June in shady spots!
I see that Sian in Orkney has daffodils out too. It must be rare for the highlands and islands to have daffs before the rest of the UK!
It has indeed! And even better, today it’s raining! (I’m serious – we have been so dry here in the east) I was also taking photos of chestnut buds too this week – if I ever get round to posting them you can compare. I seem to have minimal time for blogging at the moment.
Given your minimal time for blogging, I am all the more pleased that you spent some of it visiting and commenting here. Thanks! We had a really wet day yesterday too and, come to think of it, I can’t remember the last one prior to that. Probably the eight months from last May to New Year…!
We no longer know what to anticipate with the weather. Snow storms at odd times, heat waves even odder, Spring fooled into arriving too early, then lingering. No matter where we are, it gives us something to discuss and compare. I always love the photographs of leafing, budding, flowering and blooming things.
I’m really glad that you enjoy the photos, Margaret. I love seeing other people’s pictures of these things too. Spring is never stale.
So it’s not just Europe having weird weather? Our cousins in the Loire Valley of France had snow and temperatures of -15 C last month (5 Fahrenheit) when it was mild and sunny here in Scotland. Well, as you say, it gives us something to talk about! 🙂
Thanks for the daffodil shots – they don’t grow here and I miss them!
My pleasure. When we lived in South-East Asia, my mum missed the spring flowers more than anything. I used to fly out from Scotland for the Easter holidays with daffodils packed in damp cotton wool for her!
What a wonderful thing to do. You so miss their fragrance and their cheer.