With Renewed Enthusiasm

May I offer you a delicate Hellebore

seen in the park last week.

A huge thank you to all those people who have taken the time to leave very kind

 and heartfelt comments on the last entry here. entitled: "Why Blog?"

It was a great pleasure to hear from you all and I hope you won't be shy in the future!

It is these exchanges with you all which makes blogging such a fun and rewarding occupation!

For the past week, we have had a huge change in weather.

It has gone from grey and dreary to sunny with blue skies

and our temperatures have increased from -5C/23F to + 13C/55.4F

In the collage above, you can see the still frozen pond with tree reflections 

to the first wonderful signs of spring:

the yellow Aconite, white and purple crocus and snowdrops.

Even tiny green leaves were unfurling.

One day on my walk, I saw these young agile men. making me think of acrobats,

working together to prune a very tall tree.

Do click on the photo to make it bigger!

Here is one of the tree surgeons leaning right over to cut part of a branch.

All three men worked together, holding the cords and pulleys to created counter-weights.

This was the branch he was cutting.

I was very impressed and it was fascinating to watch.

One of the tulips in a vase which just happened to be the same colour as my tablecloth!

A walk in my neighbourhood took me past this lovely garden

where some wild primroses were growing at the base of a tree trunk.

Aren't they the most tender sign of spring?

Tiny crocus which have opened in the sunshine

and some darker ones that I saw in another garden.

Yesterday, I decided to go for a walk just before sunset.

I went up the hill in my neighbourhood, climbed up a rather muddy little slope

and just managed to capture the mountains and a slice of lake

as the colours were starting to change.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the sky had changed completely 

and took on a warm glow.

I must start going out more often at this time of the day and try and find different points of view.

That's sometimes a little tricky in a built-up area!

The flowers on the three Hyacinth bulbs have started to open.

Their fragrance is delicate and not too strong.

Here they are in their pretty pot.

My local florist's shop has a wonderful choice of flowering plants

and since Christmas, my home has never been without colourful flowers.

I made a collage out if my tulips as they started to drop their petals.

Just as beautiful as when they're fresh!

A little colour therapy in the form of two bright and colourful crochet doilies.

One can never have enough doilies, don't you think?

I usually go for fancy edges and often softer colours, but these two

rather glow in a joyful sort of way!

I'm still waiting for the arrival of my heart-shaped cushion filler

and in the meantime, I'm crocheting the other side of the heart that I already showed last time.

I hope you have all have a good week

and that you're keeping your spirits up

and finding time to do things which bring you harmony and well-being.

Next Wednesday, I go for my second Covid-19 vaccination.

To combat the pandemic, each one of us must do what is necessary.

In the meantime, stay safe and be happy!