Well, it’s been a long time coming but Spring has arrived at last. Although the weather has still seemed a little undecided at times, the countryside around us here has been pressing ahead with new growth and everything is now transformed from dull, twiggy brown to bright acid green. I headed out to the orchard at Tewin earlier this week and there found beauty in many forms; blushed pink pear and apple blossoms; drifts of forget-me-knots shimmering in the breeze and ramsons (wild garlic) pungently carpeting the woodland all around the badger sett. Some of the ancient apple trees are covered in lichens and moss and look almost fossilised, creating an amazing contrast between the boughs and the delicate newly emerging leaves. The whole orchard was alive with birds and bees, everything busy with various stages of raising their next generation and it was the perfect tonic for the positivity problems I seem to have been struggling with lately.

It seems that many of us are feeling a little anxious and stressed so I know I’m not alone – the times we are living in seem to be full of peril, duplicity and deceit. For my own part I’m steering clear of the news for a while – and instead knitting, listening to music and reading more and just trying to appreciate some of the small and simple things. Recently the biggest mood improver for me has been a pair of robins choosing to nest in our garage. The nest has been built on top of some bottles of car wash and oil and we watched it grow, expertly crafted by the female alone while her mate provided her with food to keep up her strength. That was around a month ago and since then 5 or 6 eggs have been laid and at the beginning of last week they hatched. Because I’m a softy I ordered some live meal and wax worms and both the adults now fly down whenever I go out into the garden – they know that I have some tasty treats and it’s such an incredible privilege to be so close to them. Hopefully the chicks will fledge in around a week and will be safe in the garage for the few days before they find their wings so to speak – robin chicks usually leave the nest a few days before they learn to actually fly. I’ll let you know how they get on.

Sorry to be a bit down, I’ll try and be a bit more upbeat when I come back next time. I’ve had some gorgeous new yarn recently and have lots of knitting plans, so that will help!

Hope your days are happy this week x