Springing

It finally feels like the end of winter is in sight.

This week I left work, and looking up at the sky, I saw it was not completely dark. The days are getting longer. This is the first sign.

Even if the weather still seems to be grey 80% of the time, there are days where the sun shines and it feels warmer. Not warm, but not completely cold. Maybe I don’t need a hat. Maybe I can put on a lighter jacket. Maybe I can go outside and stay outside without feeling immediately that I want to go back inside.

And there are those days when the sun comes out and there’s a kind of breath to the air. A quiet hum. A sense of motion. A feeling of life returning.

You can see it and hear it. I step into the garden and there is a loud buzz from the winter-flowering heathers – bumble bees are out again, and happy to find a source of food.

Out of nowhere, the garden is shining in purple as the spring crocuses have flowered, opening their little faces to follow the sun.

In other parts of the garden the fruit trees are swelling, their branches preparing to push out new leaves. The daffodils are sending up shoots and flower buds are forming, ready to send that joyful yellow signal that winter is over and we are officially in spring.

Last year we cleaned out our pond and put in new aquatic plants. This seems to have brought new life to the pond as the newts have returned in greater numbers than we’ve seen in years. If we are lucky there will be baby newts in a few months time.

The rose bush we planted to mark our cat’s grave is already showing signs of new life, despite being planted as a dead-looking stick a few weeks ago. There is even a small cluster of leaves emerging from one of the stems.

This is a great time of year, even if we are not fully escaped from winter’s clutches yet. The signs are appearing, from new shoots to being able to leave the windows open all day, to the sun rising a little earlier each morning.

I love this time of year, when you are finally able to breathe out and think, Yes, I made it through the winter.