March Wind Doth Blow

And We Shall Have Snow

And What Will Poor Robin Do Then? Poor Thing

As I am sitting here at my desk it is a gloriously beautiful crisp sunny day. Once again Spring and Winter are doing battle, and we have had snow overnight – thick snow. But when you go outside the sun is warm, reminding us that Spring is winning this battle. I love this time of year, with the promise of what lies ahead. By this point I am ready to leave Winter behind. But come September I am looking forward to snuggling down with roaring fires, listening the the wind whistling around the house.

Ever since my adventures started I have found myself more attuned to nature than I ever was in the UK. I suppose it is because I have been living firmly entrenched in the countryside. So more than I ever did I notice the battle that seems to take place every year between Spring and Winter, and every year Winter loses this battle, the cycle is inevitable. Persephone is on her way.

The Mountains look truly stunning today like an ever changing painting, with clouds skirting across the bright blue sky. And the combination of sun and snow is blinding at times. The puppies are experiencing their first snow and Elfie finds it a wonderful thing to stick her face into and come up looking like a yeti.

I notice a huge change in us where animals are concerned. We have always been animal lovers, but now, with all we read, we understand them more, respect them more. Understand that they all have a place as much as man, and only harm them when absolutely necessary – like the mouse in our house who is now chewing things, so we have no choice. Two kittens will be coming our way this year to support Daisy our twelve year old cat.

So with our understanding of animals in mind, the birds in our garden are really hungry due to the cold; and have been munching their way through an average of fifteen fat balls, two bags of meal worms, and three bags of seed so far this week. We have now had to resort to feeding them muesli until we replenish.

But when I sit at my desk and watch them all it is a joy, and we are hoping that the Blue Tits grace us with nesting in our little boxes this year.

We have created quite a little bird oasis, we now have Blue Tits, Wrens, Sparrows, Crows, Starlings, Goldfinches, Coal Tits, Bullfinch and Chaffinch, and lots and lots of Robins, encouraged by the numerous bird feeders scattered around the garden. It makes me smile not least because it reminds me of a wonderful lady that I met in 2020, she enhanced my life for the short space of time I spent caring for her. We would sit in her garden all afternoon watching the birds, and it was she who started my interest in bird-watching. The effects that people can have on our lives is not lost on me.

So, life moves on. And with the changes it shows us that we cannot stand still. We have to move with it. Through our whole ‘shitstorm’ of a year, as a close friend described last year, we had to learn to go with it, despite our pain. The Spring sunshine sparkling off the snow, the new life running around us, we just have to embrace and enjoy each moment. And we do. We have no choice.

Rosie