Spring notebook

Spring has finally arrived, around a month late. The delay in the emergence of Spring flowers has meant that it's even more of a joy to see them now that it's here. Trees and plants that would normally flower in sequence are suddenly blooming all at once which is the upside to having endured snow in April.

Another benefit of the delay in the seasons is that daffodils are still flowering and in some cases only just emerging. This is lucky- I'm working on a commission for a little daffodil necklace at the moment - I needed to make some sketches. 

The tiny spots of colour in the garden have multiplied a little in the last week or so. They have been like a teeny version of the Splash of Colour project for me - very, very cheering.

A glimpse of the first swallow always gives me an embarrassingly enormous thrill. I admit to peering at the skies from around the 10th April in the hope of seeing one. Perhaps appropriately it was Twitter that alerted me to their imminent arrival. Someone in my timeline announced that they'd spotted twelve of them flying in from the sea on the coast of Norfolk. I saw my first one on Tuesday. It was such a heartening sight. Quite tricky to draw though - they're blimmin' fast.

Whilst we were on holiday in Suffolk two weeks ago the wind was so cold and biting on Aldeburgh beach that a friend and I could only manage to stand it for a minute or two. Our eyebrows were numb afterwards. I think the most welcome difference in recent days has been the gentle warmth and, joy of joys, the sunlight.

When the little ones returned from school yesterday they scampered about with windmills and bubble wands and picked daisies. I snapped this with my iPhone and hadn't realised until afterwards that I'd captured these snakey bubbles as they formed.

It's hard to express the enormous soaring relief at being outside without the need for scarves and mittens. Thank goodness Spring is here.