spring – little cotton rabbits

Firstly, thank you so much for all the kindness in your messages from my previous post, the words you have gifted to me have been like a big warm hug.

In my journal of happy things Kit is still featuring, not daily, but every 2 or 3 days she’s arrived for snacks and without a doubt she is pregnant. Twice her mate has accompanied her but he’s very shy and has bolted for the bushes as soon as he’s seen us. I’ve also jotted about the early evening sky, made beautiful by the planets Venus and Jupiter being so very bright and visible low in the sky to the west just after sunset. I am hoping that we get clear skies on March 1st when they come close together, I love a bit of star and planet gazing – search ‘Venus Jupiter conjunction’ if you’re interested in seeing the spectacle in your part of the world.

Out on my own in the woods I’ve been paying attention and noticing the tiniest details that show the shift in the seasons from winter to spring. Despite the recent sharp frosts there are tree buds swelling on the branches and the first emergence of catkins, but a carpet of snowdrops in a local wood is the most emphatic sign of change. These hardy little plants are such a hopeful sight, pushing their blunt tipped leaves through frosted soil throughout January to produce such delicate bell-like flowers each February. They’re beautiful en masse and when they tremble in the cold wind on a breezy day it looks like the whole woodland floor is shimmering. And drifting down from the bare branches overhead come symphonies sung by small birds – being in a snowdrop carpeted wood is one of my favourite natural pleasures.

It’s been a cold winter this year, so spring will be a while yet but it’s been nice to embrace the last weeks of winter by curling up in the warm to work on new patterns. The horse pattern is coming along nicely and I’m now working on a cow pattern too. I will show you some pictures when I’ve ironed out some of the wrinkles. I’m also putting the finishing touches to a couple of mice that I’ll be giving away. I’ve been holding off on this because of the disarray of the international post (Royal mail has suspended international deliveries throughout January) but now it looks like the situation is resolved I’ll post about the giveaway soon. See you again when they’re ready.

It’s been a perfect Spring day here today and as I spent most of last week inside it has been lovely to get out and let the cool March breezes blow away my cobwebs. I started my walk in the small and very pretty village of Westmill in East Hertfordshire. Ambling up the single main street, I passed the medieval church of St Mary the Virgin, its rough flint and stonework contrasting with the softly blushed blossoms of a beautiful old magnolia tree. There are some very pretty cottages in Westmill and all of the gardens were full of daffodils, primroses, chionodoxa and muscari, the best of the early spring flowers.

But the main reason I headed for Westmill is because I know that it’s a good place to spot spring lambs and I wasn’t disappointed. There were lots of them gamboling about in the spring sunshine and I was laughing out loud at their antics. They seemed to form into little gangs, frisking up and down the field and leaping and bucking with excitement and exuberant energy. A small straw bale seemed to be of particular interest to them and was the stage for lots of ‘king of the castle’ competitions.

I’ve come home to knit up some lambs of my own and I’ll pop back soon and show you what else I’ve been knitting here. ‘Til then I hope the change of seasons is bring you pleasure – if you have time please leave me a comment and share what you’re enjoying in your little patch of the world at the moment.