Buying bunches of daffodils in bud from the supermarket, leaving some on neighbours wheelie bins, sunny surprise! Cramming them in jars and vases around our home for that homespun hit of spring gold.
My best thing this week has been the skylarks. They have been intermittently vocal all winter but this week there were several pairs skimming the grass tops in the meadow and at least 4 singing their hearts out in the sky. I watched stonechats and goldfinch on the seed heads too.
An antipodean perspective; tropical summer electrical storms have momentarily taken the sting out of the humidity that assaults in February (my least favourite month - weather wise - of the calendar year). I cannot wait for the change in season to arrive.
Inspired by some book or other 😉, I made semlor buns this week and fed them to our friends who came round for pancakes. I was really pleased with them, as I'm still new to baking with yeast - they rose beautifully and even survived an overnight prove in the fridge. I also ground the cardamom by hand, so it was a real labour of love!!
Seasonal in a different way, I went to one of the many events I've helped organise for this LGBT+ History Month, a workshop on a queer artist led by a queer art historian (held at a queer venue). It was more poignant than I expected to participate, feeling that sense of community but also of continuity with others, to be making LGBT+ history at the same time as celebrating it.
Feb 24, 2023·edited Feb 24, 2023Liked by Lia Leendertz
Heard the first curlew this week! Such a thrilling and haunting sound: it marks the beginning of Spring for me even more than snowdrops or daffodils. And it's such a relief that they have returned to breed for another year, as they're so endangered and numbers are falling. They usually arrive around the time of my birthday at the end of February.
I went on a run on Monday morning that felt like spring had sprung - the skies were dreamy blue and although there was still a nip in the air, the sunshine felt warm. I went through a non-student-y neighbourhood and was delighted by peoples front gardens - I saw a whole front lawn carpeted in crocuses and snowdrops, a garden with three magnolia trees in, and so many camellias. I’m glad I know that it is all so close by as I will go again soon, hopefully to see the magnolias in bloom! My second thing this week is forced blossom on my desk. I always find that by February my mood needs lifting so I try my best to bring early spring into the house - potted hyacinths, tiny jars of primroses, snowdrops when I can find them, and vases and vases of blossom branches (still tightly furled and looking like nothing much) which bloom slowly. At the minute I have on my desk a mysterious deep pink blossom of an unknown origin, which doesn’t smell sweet, but instead rich and nutty. Lastly, it was seeing blowsy daffodil heads waving under a perfect crescent moon last night, the darkness cloaking me in cold as if to say “we haven’t quite thrown off winter yet, hold back” which is probably a reminder I needed. Lia - I can’t wait to visit the new apple orchard on the Common (if that’s where that is!), when I get back to Bristol. That truly is so exciting 😊
Hello from Perth Australia where we are getting ready to farewell the oppressive heat of summer. We have had a few cooler mornings this week and it is preparing us for the transition to the cooler months which for me is always signified by Easter.
The local traditional owners of the land here in Perth -the Whadjuk Noongar people - call this season Bunuru and it’s the hottest time of the year. Bunuru is signified by white blossoms on the gum trees which I saw plenty of today on my way back from the dentist 🤣
Lovely to see new trees and an orchard is extra special!
It’s cold here in Ohio again. Sleet & rain all day the past 2 days while I was home sick with one of my kids - but now the sun is out and I’m enjoying robins & even one surprise wren in the yard, along with the first tiny buds on the maple tree (my dad delivered fresh syrup too!). It’s definitely still winter here!
We walked the dog on Tottenham Marshes where the springy surface makes the going good from him to gallop to his little heart’s content. The wild Essex plum trees were in full bloom so we have great hopes for plum picking and jam later in the year.
For once I have remembered to sow seeds early and incubate them indoors and my goodness the pure joy of seeing a wee tomato shoot, shyly coming up from its tray on top of my chest of drawers, gloriously green.
That north wind! it's got colder again here, back into the woolly layers; yummy pancakes at every meal on Shrove Tuesday - bacon, tomato and avocado/mayo then chicken peppers leek and grated cheese and later ham and cheese followed by banana/chocolate and vanilla yogurt, not waiting another year before I do that again!; last night at sunset a blackbird singing his heart out.
1.Last Sunday I made some 'Fasnetsküchle' (a traditional pastry of fried dough and cinnamon sugar from the region of southwestern Germany where I grew up) to celebrate carneval season. 2. Wednesday night was clear and cold and on my drive home I saw the crescent moon hanging low in the almost dark sky, framed by Venus and Jupiter. It was such a beautiful sight. 3. We awoke this morning to 15cm of fresh, really fluffy snow. So fluffy in fact, that according to a local meteorologist 'this snow is 3x fluffier than usual'. Delightful!
Oh, how lovely to note be able to watch that orchard and woodland develop. My week's noticings were more and more blackthorn blossoms, with other trees not far behind. A wonderful moment holding a newly woken Peacock butterfly as it revved up its wings, I could actually see it shaking its flight muscles. And as others have said, the first time waking up to a dawn chorus, sterling's riffing a jazz tune over chattering sparrows.
This week i have had the excitement of seeing the first chilli seedlings appear. Pheasants have been visiting and clearing up the seed around the bird feeder. One male and his three ladies. Fine by the feeder but not so fine when they decided to pull all the onion sets up! Seeing the alignment of the moon, Venus and Jupiter, wonderful.
Buying bunches of daffodils in bud from the supermarket, leaving some on neighbours wheelie bins, sunny surprise! Cramming them in jars and vases around our home for that homespun hit of spring gold.
My best thing this week has been the skylarks. They have been intermittently vocal all winter but this week there were several pairs skimming the grass tops in the meadow and at least 4 singing their hearts out in the sky. I watched stonechats and goldfinch on the seed heads too.
An antipodean perspective; tropical summer electrical storms have momentarily taken the sting out of the humidity that assaults in February (my least favourite month - weather wise - of the calendar year). I cannot wait for the change in season to arrive.
Inspired by some book or other 😉, I made semlor buns this week and fed them to our friends who came round for pancakes. I was really pleased with them, as I'm still new to baking with yeast - they rose beautifully and even survived an overnight prove in the fridge. I also ground the cardamom by hand, so it was a real labour of love!!
Seasonal in a different way, I went to one of the many events I've helped organise for this LGBT+ History Month, a workshop on a queer artist led by a queer art historian (held at a queer venue). It was more poignant than I expected to participate, feeling that sense of community but also of continuity with others, to be making LGBT+ history at the same time as celebrating it.
Heard the first curlew this week! Such a thrilling and haunting sound: it marks the beginning of Spring for me even more than snowdrops or daffodils. And it's such a relief that they have returned to breed for another year, as they're so endangered and numbers are falling. They usually arrive around the time of my birthday at the end of February.
I went on a run on Monday morning that felt like spring had sprung - the skies were dreamy blue and although there was still a nip in the air, the sunshine felt warm. I went through a non-student-y neighbourhood and was delighted by peoples front gardens - I saw a whole front lawn carpeted in crocuses and snowdrops, a garden with three magnolia trees in, and so many camellias. I’m glad I know that it is all so close by as I will go again soon, hopefully to see the magnolias in bloom! My second thing this week is forced blossom on my desk. I always find that by February my mood needs lifting so I try my best to bring early spring into the house - potted hyacinths, tiny jars of primroses, snowdrops when I can find them, and vases and vases of blossom branches (still tightly furled and looking like nothing much) which bloom slowly. At the minute I have on my desk a mysterious deep pink blossom of an unknown origin, which doesn’t smell sweet, but instead rich and nutty. Lastly, it was seeing blowsy daffodil heads waving under a perfect crescent moon last night, the darkness cloaking me in cold as if to say “we haven’t quite thrown off winter yet, hold back” which is probably a reminder I needed. Lia - I can’t wait to visit the new apple orchard on the Common (if that’s where that is!), when I get back to Bristol. That truly is so exciting 😊
Hello from Perth Australia where we are getting ready to farewell the oppressive heat of summer. We have had a few cooler mornings this week and it is preparing us for the transition to the cooler months which for me is always signified by Easter.
The local traditional owners of the land here in Perth -the Whadjuk Noongar people - call this season Bunuru and it’s the hottest time of the year. Bunuru is signified by white blossoms on the gum trees which I saw plenty of today on my way back from the dentist 🤣
That Biscoff spread works on EVERYTHING! 😂
Lovely to see new trees and an orchard is extra special!
It’s cold here in Ohio again. Sleet & rain all day the past 2 days while I was home sick with one of my kids - but now the sun is out and I’m enjoying robins & even one surprise wren in the yard, along with the first tiny buds on the maple tree (my dad delivered fresh syrup too!). It’s definitely still winter here!
My camellia is laden with big, bursting blooms! I saw the first bees and bats. That beautiful crescent moon in its dance with Jupiter and Venus.
We walked the dog on Tottenham Marshes where the springy surface makes the going good from him to gallop to his little heart’s content. The wild Essex plum trees were in full bloom so we have great hopes for plum picking and jam later in the year.
For once I have remembered to sow seeds early and incubate them indoors and my goodness the pure joy of seeing a wee tomato shoot, shyly coming up from its tray on top of my chest of drawers, gloriously green.
That north wind! it's got colder again here, back into the woolly layers; yummy pancakes at every meal on Shrove Tuesday - bacon, tomato and avocado/mayo then chicken peppers leek and grated cheese and later ham and cheese followed by banana/chocolate and vanilla yogurt, not waiting another year before I do that again!; last night at sunset a blackbird singing his heart out.
1.Last Sunday I made some 'Fasnetsküchle' (a traditional pastry of fried dough and cinnamon sugar from the region of southwestern Germany where I grew up) to celebrate carneval season. 2. Wednesday night was clear and cold and on my drive home I saw the crescent moon hanging low in the almost dark sky, framed by Venus and Jupiter. It was such a beautiful sight. 3. We awoke this morning to 15cm of fresh, really fluffy snow. So fluffy in fact, that according to a local meteorologist 'this snow is 3x fluffier than usual'. Delightful!
Oh, how lovely to note be able to watch that orchard and woodland develop. My week's noticings were more and more blackthorn blossoms, with other trees not far behind. A wonderful moment holding a newly woken Peacock butterfly as it revved up its wings, I could actually see it shaking its flight muscles. And as others have said, the first time waking up to a dawn chorus, sterling's riffing a jazz tune over chattering sparrows.
This week i have had the excitement of seeing the first chilli seedlings appear. Pheasants have been visiting and clearing up the seed around the bird feeder. One male and his three ladies. Fine by the feeder but not so fine when they decided to pull all the onion sets up! Seeing the alignment of the moon, Venus and Jupiter, wonderful.