Tomorrow is the Spring Equinox making day and night of equal length. From now on, days continue getting longer till the Summer Solstice. Spring has sprung and it feels very good!
The last week or so has been bright and sunny, with still a little chill in the air. It has been a pleasure to be outside, to soak up the Spring weather and notice how it gives me renewed energy, enthusiasm and literally a spring in my step.
Birds are busy building nests: I have seen crows carry sticks and smaller birds picking sheep's wool and moss to start on this incredibly skillful and labour-intensive activity to prepare for egg-laying and rearing their brood. Sparrows have been pinching bits of grass and hay to stuff in holes in the roof and we hear them being very active up there during the day, much to the entertainment of our cats Lola and Oscar!
The snowdrops have almost all faded now, being replaced by daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, narcissi and primroses adorning the garden, very welcome nuggets of colour. There are buds on some trees and bushes. My seedlings are growing well and I have started potting some on to give them room to grow and establish as a plant. I even think new grass has started to grow in our fields… not quite enough to sustain our sheep who are still eating plenty of hay but new growth is visible, that lovely, fresh green only seen in Spring. We have picked some leeks, spinach and purple-sprouting broccoli, our first homegrown vegetables.
Our neighbours' fields are also filling with new life, lambs being born each day as ewes' gestations are now coming to the end of their 145-day term. The lambs' bleating is delightful to hear and their playfulness a lovely invitation to connect with my own childish bounce and wonder.
Spring is the season to welcome change, to let go of things that hinder us and renew ourselves with a fresh sense of purpose. We can use the season's energy, full of hope and promise, to help us reconnect with our creativity which may have been dormant over the Winter months. It's time to spring clean and de-clutter, time to sow seeds and embrace all the new and potential that the blossoming season offers. Robin Williams once said: “ Spring is nature's way of saying 'Let's party!” and that is how life on our smallholding really feels right now.
