The snowdrops are now all beginning to fade, they have lost their lustrous whiteness and ,dare I say it ,are taking on a delicate shade of grey . Gradually they will disappear from view as silently as they came , to recoup and rejuvenate for another year .Now our banks and hedgerows are abundant with daffodils and primroses . The daffodils are a most feminine flower ;their delicate trumpets with crinoline edges and bright curling petals gather in gossiping clusters like mothers meeting at the school gate.They nod and smile whilst their exuberant youngsters , the primroses, jostle and shove each other like so many naughty children, for the best spot on the sunny bank .
Every year it amazes me ,one day there are just the odd specks of yellow and then the next day it is as if someone has ladled great dollops of custard onto the banks . When you see the mass of tiny yellow flowers you just have to smile .Even on the greyest day for the next few weeks it will be as if the sun is shining - daffodils and primroses the combination sent by nature to awaken us from the winter months .In a very little time I shall see the first house martins arrive and then I know that the sun will feel that little bit warmer and optimism returns.
Written by
Georgepa
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Oh my, that's a lovely and lyrical post. Thank you, Georgepa. A sweet thing for a bedtime story. We had a bit of sun today, and there were puddles instead of ice along the road. Liquid water! Quite a novelty. The snow banks receded and shrank quite a bit, but the (American) robins, our big bright singers, usually a harbinger of spring, have come too soon, and are hopping about on two feet of snow, no worms to be had. I think it will be a good year for maple syrup. The sap is running now, and trees are tapped. Warmer days and cold nights make good syrup. We are a long way from daffodils still, but so nice to be reminded that we have them yet to look forward to. Optimism is good. Thanks again. Happy spring to all, love and peace, Easterncedar
Despite the fact that snowdrops are endemic to Turkey we don't see them in the wild here nor can we obtain them as plants for growing in the garden. Over the years we have planted lots of bulbs from UK with only the odd daffodil and some grape hyacinth (which can be seen in the wild here) surviving. I have been pruning our citrus trees over past couple of days and can just see tiny buds forming on them. In the town the orange blossom is already open in sheltered corners but ours will be another two weeks or so. However, major harbinger of spring, last Saturday a stork alighted on nest outside our house on electricity pole. Never seen one so early before, 7 March. S/he didn't stay long and the actual owners of the nest have yet to take up residence. Winter is definitely over and we survived.
I would just love to see the look of horror on my cat's face if a stork arrived to nest ! She spends most if her time at the moment lying flat on her tummy -tail lashing - eyeing the sparrows who are building nests under the eve's of our house. But a stork - that would be really something else.
We had two cats here until last year when one disappeared and the other died of old age and they never showed any interest in storks. I find the most wonderful thing to be when they fly quite low over the garden and cast a huge shadow - I imagine it as the same effect pterodactyls would have had.
Once again Georgepa you have beautifully reminded me of how amazing this world of ours is. To see the first signs of spring can, for a moment, blot all the other stuff we would rather forget. It is also good to hear from others around the world having similar seasonal changes. Spring has arrived west of you as well. At the weekend, when Colin was safely in his bed with the sides up, I decided to take a moonlit walk around the garden, outside light on and torch in hand. I stood by the pond listening to the many frogs competing with each other as they tried to woo a mate, or threaten the other little fellows, and watching the lucky ones who were clinging on to the ladies they had found. After a few minutes I was startled as I heard something behind me, a quiet crunching as something disturbed the shingle and a quite loud snuffling/grunting. The hedgehog is back. I've seen one most summer nights for a few years now but never until June. I hope we don't get another very cold snap. So with the frogs croaking and the hedgehog snuffling I went to bed a happy lady. Amazingly Colin slept through the night, and the next night, the first time for years, so I think he was maybe lulled by the croaking which is audible in his bedroom a few feet away. I wonder, if I recorded them and played it to him at night, when they stop croaking, will he sleep through then?
Nanna B. that's a lovely post, too. I love the spring peepers here when they come. My brother-in- law had a guide to frog and toad calls on his ipod with all the other wonderful music from all eras and all over the world that he had perpetually going on shuffle the last year of his life. He loved his music! We'd be listening to some Armenian oud music, some 60s rock and roll, a baroque quartet, some louisiana bayou blues and then the frogs. He found it soothing, although his wife became less enthusiastic about all the croaking when it came around too often.
thank you georgepa and all the others who hav e contributed about spring - we re very lucky i n the UK having a spring and autumn season unlike CANADA which tend sot go straight
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Not swinging from the chandler yet!!!
Psp warrior has left the building 
