I went for a very short walk out in the woods and fields with my dear dog. Down a little slope with aspen standing there blooming, I went down a small path among wood anemones.
The Wood anemone is a hardy flower and a flower that expresses the atmosphere of spring in all it’s expressions, the colours of yellow and white that turns into lilac, and the faint scent of sweet citrus. I couldn’t resist picking a bouquet of them, bringing them home to cheer up and beautifying our little home.
A golden memory of my very dear friend. I lost him too soon. Even if the sorrow has passed the loss is always there, painful in its emptiness.
It had rained a lot the day before. Toby and I went for a run in the morning. The sun was already up, bringing colour and warmth to trees and plants. The dew sparkled in silver on the grass in the field we passed.
Running through the forest we just stopped amazed by the sunlight shining through the trees.
Still in the shadow, we could see the floodlit trees before us. A blessed moment of beauty.
Spring is here and with it the birds, the starlings skillfully mimicking their fellow birds, while enthusiastically flapping their wings, the larks’ joyous exclamation as they rise in the air, the cranes’ melancholic calling echoing from the moor, the frogs singing in the lakes and ponds. Not forgetting the fragrance, first damp forest air, then coltsfoot, followed by the rising sap of the trees and bushes. Euphoria, as life returns to these parts of the world.
The spring flowers have started to bloom too, daffodils, snowdrops, crocuses and early tulips.
It is strange to think that for just one and a half month ago the landscape was covered with a thick layer of snow on top of the deep frozen ground.
But a week ago a so called ‘setback’ arrived with 30 cm of snow and strong wind. We did our best to feed the birds that had arrived. I have never seen so many birds at our bird feeders. We tried to figure out what different kinds of food could satisfy all the species. Thankfully we have barns with cattle and sheep. This showed itself to be safe havens for many birds among them song thrushes.
Thankfully it only lasted two days. Then it melted and the spring returned. This is so typical for April here; one day spring, then winter returns for a day, telling that we live close to the Arctic. This setback was tougher than most though, the coldest in 68 years.
I’m happy now for the birds and plants, thriving in the damp warm spring. There are few things that fill me with such joy than to see life returning here. I’m always amazed by the transformation.. I hope both plants and animals will get a good year in all respects.
Some winters the brooks look as if the snow queen of Narnia had been here, and in one wave with her wand turned them into ice.
Just a beautiful moment.
A clear sky, the setting sun, long shadows.
Just the two of us this afternoon. He is always ahead of me.
A shift between cold weather and thaw. The trees are still frozen which makes the trunks shine in silver.
The “dagsmeja” has returned.
A walk in silence, thoughts and awe. We passed the lonely farm, a place of such beauty and peace.
Beauty… I try to capture her with my camera, but she skillfully evades my attempts. I try to describe her, but I’m lost for words. I cannot keep her; she visits me on her own terms. I’m grateful, I can clearly see, I’m not the master but she.
January has been dominated by low temperatures. But as always, the sun is slowly returning; the afternoons have become longer. Still the shadows are long when walking both in the morning and in the afternoon.
This afternoon Toby sat down waiting for me. He does that often, in anticipation of playing in the field.
Beautiful but cold. I have mingled emotions towards snow and cold weather, and I cannot make up my mind. The sunsets have a rare beauty, even if I cannot be outside to witness them for long.
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A personal blog of a plant lover
Flores Island · Azores
From Where I Stand...
Wonderer of Nature 