Beautiful April

Rainy days seem like a distant dream - we are now enjoying day upon day of blue skies - it's glorious.

Easter weekend seemed like a good time to venture back up to see the primroses. I am beginning to think I imagined last year's display.......still not many in flower!

I didn't really mind, it was such a lovely day with bright blue skies. There were some sheep on the skyline looking dramatic.

It's good to cherish the sunny moments - just in case the dreaded rain returns.

This week's other sunny moment came when after many months of indecision I chose a new bicycle. Me and my old Pashley Princess had ridden many hundreds of miles together - in rain, hail, snow, thunder, gale and sun - up hill and down - but all that weather had taken its toll and it was time for my Pashley to be retired. 

Meet my Dawes Red Feather and in the words of Bing Crosby "she is yar" - super speedy and it's great to be able to get out and about again.

Tonight, after work, I cycled along to the low pier and it felt good to be cycling and to be enjoying the blue skies - this April has turned out to be quite beautiful.

April Sunshine

It was Mr M's day off today and I firmly decided to have a day off too. I managed to have just an hour or so dealing with some emails and then said goodbye to work for the rest of the day.

It's been a sunny, sort of windy day and I spent some time up on the swing seat cloud watching - enjoying the warmth of the sun in between the banks of clouds.

The trees are all starting to unfurl their leaves - birch trees always seem in a great hurry to be first.

Although older wiser trees like the big copper beech like to savour spring and hold back just a little longer until they are really sure spring is here.

At long last primroses are starting to appear all over the hillside.......

........along with dog-violets and wood anemones, tucked away among the daffodils.

It's easy to feel springlike with the sudden appearance of all that colour......so thinking that it's only a few days to Easter, I made the most of the sun and sat outside with some cotton and hook and a pattern from Love the Bluebird.

I managed to rustle up a few bunnies and I thought how much I had missed just pottering and crafting in the last couple of weeks. I have enjoyed working more too - I guess it's all a matter of balance and I haven't really got there yet.

I looked out my box of Easter treasure and I am looking forward to opening it tomorrow.

Where have I been?

I feel like I have lost control of my days (and my mind!!) - each day seems to rush to a conclusion and I feel like I have a million things still to do and a million things to think about and I just need to catch my breath.

Tonight after a typically bizarre day at work - I nearly broke my neck running from one place of work to another to meet someone at 1.30pm only to get there and find out it was only 12.30pm. Which meant I had to hightail it back to the other place of work at 4.30pm to finish off the work I couldn't finish because I ran out of time because earlier on I had been an hour ahead of myself. What??

Anyway, I digress......tonight I announced an urgent need to go for a hike up a track to a bridge I thought would be covered in primroses and would make a lovely photo and if we didn't go now when would we ever have the time. Mr M ever obliging and living up to his saintly status agreed - perhaps I was slightly unhinged at this point! Typically at this point the heavens opened and it poured with rain.....someone was trying to send me a message......undeterred we headed out.

The herd of cows all had that look about them.....couple of idiots out for a walk in this weather.

I forgave them especially when I saw the wee calf. Isn't it cute....if a little stroppy too.

The weather was clearing, but as you can see it was hardly a return to spring sunshine.

The track is an old Parliamentary road and dates to the start of the 19th century.

It was just one of those days. When we reached the bridge there were hardly any primroses to be seen. Mr M ever the smart one, declared that as it was North facing there was little chance of there being many primroses out yet. Good grief. A tree at the bridge was absolutely buzzing with bees the sound was almost deafening. We headed back down the track and stopped at the cairn to admire the view.

On a sad note the cat that was visiting us was knocked down and killed on the road and I've been heartbroken.