March Winds and Sunshine

The first pink blossom of the year!
I can never resist it.
The sunshine in this month of March has been incredibly generous so far,
but the winds have sometimes been quite cold.

There are always lovely walks somewhere along the lake.
This time it was in Montreux which is well-know for its microclimate of warmer weather.
It was quite misty over the water and mountains on this particular day.

There are various artwork pieces along the water's edge.
This one has a great deal of presence.

This one is fascinating and the given title is 'Above Sea Level'

I've moved in closer here, so that you can see the details better.
If you look carefully, especially at the very top of the sculture,
you can see that it's made up of hundreds of tiny, stainless steel fish!
Click on the photo to see it even larger.

My favourite art work, is this poetic one of a little boy high up on a very tall ladder.

He is holding a marble up towards the sky.
There is an accompanying poem in French below.
The first line reads: "Et si ma bille était la lune?"
which means: "And what if my marble were the moon?"

I can zoom in closer with my camera, but to see his face from the front,
 I might have to go into the lake.

The mist on the other side of the lake didn't really disappear through my walk
but I like the dreamy look that it gave.

Apple Blossom!
I know it's far too soon, but I saw this beautiful blossom in front of a florist's shop
which sold flowering Bonzai.
I think that Apple Blossom is my favourite of all!

When we see daffodils in the gardens, we know that spring is well and truly here.
Yesterday was the first day of spring and the daffodils are everywhere.
I saw these in the park yesterday.

Another walk along the lake in the very small town, almost just a village,
called Cully.
The day was mostly dull, but I liked this scene of a couple sitting on a bench
framed by the tree boughs on either side.
On a clearer day, the view here is glorious!

I made a collage of all the flowers I saw between the train station and the lakeside.
The pink blossom is called Deutzia scabra, then comes the yellow Forsythia,
A beautiful daffodil and some purple-pink Aubretia.

I wanted to include some yellow and blue to honour the Ukrainian people.
These hearts and yellow pansies and tulips are for them.
The garland in the middle is the one hanging over the couch in my living-room.

The crochet collage is a small couch throw that I've been making for an old friend.
The colours were chosen to go with a creamy coloured couch.
Apparently, it's very snug!
I've been making a larger couch throw/small blanket for my son and his wife,
but I was waiting for a delivery of extra yarn to arrive
and was able to finish the above project.

On Saturday, I did a lot of gardening on my balcony, cutting back plants,
scraping the surface of the earth and lots of watering.
I thought that it would be really lovely to make a collage of everything in flower right now.
I took these photos yesterday, on the first day of spring!

On the upper left, my tiny Campanula have been giving flowers all through the winter.
The Camellia plant has just given me two beautiful blooms.
The pansies speak for themselves - always so cheerful.
The tiny green leaf is new growth on my geranium plants.
The pink Cyclamen has survived the winter, all three plants.
The tiny viola on the lower right is new this year!

I hope that wherever you are, you are also enjoying the joys of spring
and some of you may be experiencing a beautiful autumn!
Until next time with more flowers and lake shots and some crochet too.
May you enjoy this month of March.

Yellow and Blue

 

I think we all now know what the colours yellow and blue represent.
They make us think of sunshine and blue skies
but right now, they remind us of the Ukrainian flag
and what the Ukrainian people are going through. 

Whatever we are doing in our own daily lives,
our thoughts turn, irrevocably and with empathy, to all the suffering experienced
by innocent people as they are forced to flee their beloved country.

This is the yellow and blue mandala I made.

I have not posted for a while as I have been very busy doing important crochet projects
for gifts, and they have been taking up a great deal of my time.
When they are completely finished, I will post them on my blog.

 I love going down to the big market on Saturdays 
to buy fresh fruit and vegetables and farm eggs.

There are often musicians playing and this young musician was playing his
cello very beautifully to earn some money for his musical studies.
I gave him something, of course!

As I passed one street, I looked up to see the elegant tower of Lausanne Cathedral
which looked so lovely against the blue sky.

I've received an early birthday gift of a book on photography
on the work and life of Vivian Maier.
She has become famous for her clever street photography and self-portraits.
Since I am still doing my self-portrait class. I was inspired to try out a similar style.

This shot was taken in a richly decorated shop window where there were also mirrors.
The reflections have given a double self-portrait!

One of the exercises given was to take a picture of our hands,
so I held up a glass ball to try and capture my garland of hearts!
I finally got the ball centred after several tries!

I did receive some beautiful red roses and decided to make a collage of different details
of the lovely petals.

My pink Amaryllis grew a second stem with stunning and photogenic blooms

The back views are beautiful too.

A few petal details in this collage.

There have been visits down to the lake in Ouchy
and our weather has been so beautifully sunny - even if the March winds
have made it feel colder.

Both these photos are taken from Ouchy looking over to the French side and mountains
and the town of Evian.

One day, I took the train to the lakeside town of Vevey. It's not far at all from where I live.
I did love the sparkles on the water.
It was a little tricky to take the photo as I was almost facing the sun.

This is from the same town, but with a closer view on the majestic Dents du Midi.
They are a three-kilometre long mountain range in the Chablais Alps
in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

Closer to home, and in my neighbourhood, I saw these charming snowdrops.

On one of my daily walks, I noticed this tiny Harlequin Ladybird nestled
in the leaves of a flowering Viburnum bush.

Some of the south-facing Magnolia trees have started to bloom.
This particular one had such beautiful petals.

A yellow and blue collage for Ukraine.
The pansies are on my balcony
and I crocheted the yellow hearts set in a blue granny square.

It was also time to put a spring wreath on my front door. 
I chose pastel colours and a flower pattern
where you will see many beautiful flowery patterns.

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I hope that spring is waking up where you live and that the sunshine
and blue skies are uplifting your thoughts during these troubled times. 

We can help those in need by donating to the charities that are suggested in the media.
I like to use La Chaîne du Bonheur
which is a well-known and trusted Swiss organization
and also Doctors Without Borders.