The Essence of Spring

Spring is here with its soft pastel tones

Early pink blossom

and sparkling water on the lake.

Crocus open in the warmth of the sun

and tiny anemone grow in the moss under the trees.

My favourite poem about daffodils

Growing in the city park

and those I bring home with me to put in a vase.

Now come the tulips

growing in the gardens

Some have crinkly petals

that go so well with one of my vases

Their petals are a work of art.

The warm sunny days call us down to the lake

This was taken in Morges and it's rather hazy,

but the Mont Blanc Mountain can still just be seen on the left of the picture.

The Magnolia were just coming into bloom

Revealing their beautiful centres and sunlit, soft petals

Another day and in a place called Cully along the Lake Léman

Here is the charming port.

Tiny Aubrieta flowers were growing in very small slits and cracks in the walls.

How they find enough nourishment always amazes me.

They come in the most beautiful shades of pink, purple and violet.

I couldn't resist making a collage of these little beauties!

These lovely orange tulips had started to drop all their petals

and when I put this flower down the patterned shadows from my kitchen curtains

made them look beautiful again. 

Accidental art!

It isn't spring without Forsythia!

I love this little gate entrance which I often pass when I go shopping!

Do you remember when I showed it to you in January covered in snow!

Have a little peep here:

Bringing Colour into Winter

I hope that you are enjoying the joys and the beauty of spring.

Five Things I Love about April

1. The meeting of the seasons:

I love how lingering winter and spring mingle together to create their contrasting beauty.

The last snowfalls and flowering magnolia are a lovely example here.

2. The lakeside

 Dreamy walks along the lake at times of the day when there are as few people as possible!

Don't you love this amazing metal sculpture of a wave of little fish?

Here is a close-up.

3. Nature waking up

The spring flowers which start to bloom just everywhere. I love them all,

but there's nothing like daffodils to represent spring awakening!

Deep pink Hellebore

sometimes known as 'Lenten Rose' or 'Winter Rose'

Grapes of tiny flower buds which hang so gracefully on the branches.

4. Getting out into nature

From where I live above the centre of the town, I can easily get public transport

by bus and metro, up to the fields and the woods to enjoy the wide expanses,

the green fields and wooded areas

with just the sound of birdsong and the breeze rustling in the trees.

5. The longer days

When I can enjoy early morning walks before breakfast 

when all is still quiet and then again in the evenings after supper to hear the blackbird singing

in the trees in my neighbourhood.

There are many other things to appreciate during the month of April

and I'm sure you have your favourites too!

Awakening

With these warmer and longer days, Nature awakens from her winter's sleep.

That's what I love about the seasons, there is always something new to enjoy.

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers to appear,

real harbingers of spring getting ready underneath the nurturing soil.

Wild anemone emerging from the depths of last year's fallen leaves.

Primroses are also early spring flowers. I found these growing out of a very tiny crack in a wall.

I love it when plants find a place to grow when there is seemingly no visible earth.

Sweet violets that I remember picking as a child and putting them into the smallest

thimble-sized vases!

Last year's fern has developed new green leaves, perfect for yet another crack in a wall.

Crocus are just everywhere. I saw these in the park.

Many little pale purple heads hiding an astonishing orange centre.

The buds are positively swelling and some young leaves are bursting forth

It's a little early for blossom still, but these were growing in a sunny spot.

At last!

The golden daffodil

just starting to open down in the park.

Crossing the foot bridge near me at the start of one of my outings, 

this beautiful Siamese cat. He was sitting on a pile of branches looking up at the people

passing on the bridge.

Among all these colourful and cheerful spring blooms,

 I noticed these dried hydrangea flowers and thought how beautiful they looked

against the pale blue sky.

***

A few words on awakening:

"Since ancient times, the term awakening has been used as a kind of metaphor

that points to the transformation of human consciousness,

The word Buddha comes from the Sanskrit word Budh,

meaning 'to be awake'.

So Buddha is not a name and ultimately not a person,

but a state of consciousness"

words by Eckhart Tolle