Joys of Spring

A day of bonfires,
Of dandelion verges and gambolling lambs,
First sighting of bluebells,
And a Lady's Smock field.
A sheep riding on the back
Of a farmer's quad bike
Trundling down the road.
Seagulls bright in sunlight
Against a dark backdrop
Of overcast hills.
Home just in time
Before the squall hit.

Sometimes I want to live in Scotland.

bagitha

The lofty peaks of
Islay and Jura
Rise from a bright blue sea
Skittish waves tickle the pebbles on the beach...
I can almost hear them chuckle.
The sky is streaked with a
Kaleidoscope of clouds.
Birds flit past the window
Bearing gifts for their new nests.
Their silver song
Gladdens my heart.

You've given me a very serene vision, bagitha. Thank you.

Across the loch from where I sit
The white tops and burnished copper sides
Of hills in sunset light are my view.
Below the bright shine are hill shadows,
Trees greening and filling out by the day
And the first few lights
Strung along the lochside road.
Clouds scud past from the north-west
In my visible sky.

The gape of the wee chicks, tickles us pink...

I should have said the summer after the Icelandic volcano, because that was in the spring of 2010, wasn't it? We think "our" house martins were "ashed" on the way her and never made it.

The ones I saw today were heading west, soop. Hope you see some soon. We have had as many as eight active nests under the eaves, but the year after the ash cloud from the Iceland volcano, we had no resident house martins . Then last year they were very late and house sparrows (of which we used to have none but they've appeared in the last couple of years) were already squatting in the HM nests. Sparrows are thugs compared with house martins. Wonder what will happen this year? They are one of my favourite birds.

bagitha Wow! Lucky you. Ours haven't arrived yet. Last year's nest, under the eaves, is ready and waiting. At the Big House [J just been to mow the lawn] the late owner would leave the door and windows ajar. The Martins entered and built their nests inside the house, in corners of the vaulted ceilings in the grand hall.

HOUSE MARTINS!!!

Annobel Yes! When they do put in an appearance, they tend to visit in a wee group. Another bird we enjoy in our garden, is the tree creeper. They are fascinating to watch.

Long-tailed tits sometimes visit my bird feeder but they must be busy elsewhere just now.

I forgot to mention the tit families...blue, coal and great. Such sweet little feathered friends.

A Scottish Spring singing - I can hear it, see it and smell it! Thank you both supersoop and bagitha.

Ours are mainly on the front bank, which faces NE and, in part, SE, with a few strays in the grass below and on the terrace above. I wait till all the flowers – snowdrops, daff, primroses, lesser celandines, pignut, lady's smock, and ox-eye daisies have shed their seed before I tidy up the grasses late in the summer. Oh yes, there is London Pride as well which seems to be spreading. Six years ago, when we came here the whole bank was smothered in brambles growing through some azaleas. I keep the azaleas in check now (lovely when in bloom in May) and hoick out diddy brambles whenever I see them. We've had robins and willow warblers nesting in holes in the bank, not to mention various bees, bank voles and wood mice, and roe deer leave their droppings regularly. They eat some of the flowers but not too many. In autumn they eat the bolete mushrooms.

bagitha Impressed! What a high score. Ours are in plump clumps, just over the fence where we meet the woodland.

I'm certain we have more primroses every year. For the record and for a pre-dinner breath of fresh air, I went out and counted them: 685, including buds that haven't opened yet. Amazing! I think this must be my flower-counting year. I don't usually.

Lovely pictures of spring from both of you, bags and super

Yes!
Violets and primroses
And periwinkles by the score.
Ginko Biloba in bud
Willow in fresh green robe
Huge marsh marigolds
Pale and dark heather
Cushions nestling between the rocks.
We have a resident vole
Neat-eared and bristly-whiskered
Goldfinch
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Thrush
Blackbird
Robin
Wren
Happy garden sights and sounds
To gladden the heart.

Lungwort and violets flowering in my garden now
And two primroses on the front terrace
(Where there was one last year)
Which is supposed to be cinder gravel
But a lot of years of moss and earthworm work
Mean that it is grassed over.
I have to mow it and scythe back the periwinkles.
A bank vole came out of the dry stone dyke at the edge
And nibbled some grass and daisy leaves.
DD and I stood dead still.

Two gorgeous sweetiepies, butty!

butter they are lovely!

Butter BEAUTIFUL grandchildren. Happy easter weekend

Spring birthdays for my grandchildren . (Photos/Screen captures on profile)

We've got roast lamb for Sunday too - caper sauce would be a good addition, thanks jeni I usually only do caper sauce with boiled ham so it'll be a nice change