a whisper and a rattle

There’s snow in the forecast for tomorrow and the landscape is deep in its winter snooze, but the first whispers of spring are emerging and they always take me by surprise.  Long before the big burst of lavish spring colour, the white flash of a snowdrop and the modest delicacy of hazel catkins catch my eye as they start to appear in the hedgerows.  The Welsh name for catkins is cynffon oen bach  - little lambs’ tails. Appropriate as they dance in the slightest breeze.

               

Also – collected the post this morning to find a nice fat envelope that rattled when I picked it up – seeds!  Just a few packets of tall heritage peas and some outdoor pickling cucumbers, there’ll be plenty more in the post over the next few weeks.

Now where did I put that snow shovel…???