Outdoor Discoveries

Warmth

The past weekend didn’t see me get out into hill country for a variety of reasons and there was ample dull weather about to provide balm for my senses following my non-exodus. Today is a different matter with its warm hazy sunshine and the prospect of similar weather for the rest of this week has me pulling my bike out for the daily commute. After what has been one of the colder winters in recent times, daffodils are finally coming into bloom and there’s a certain change in the brightness of the light that always comes around this time of year. Birdsong has been heralding the onset of spring for a while now and looks set to continue while rabbits can be seen scampering and pheasants scurrying (the sound of an emergency pheasant lift off is quite something though we shouldn’t be the cause of it). In these times of downturn, we need a lift and it looks as if nature is putting one our way, never at all a bad thing and probably more needed in Éire than in the U.K. There’s a bank holiday in over there tomorrow for St. Patrick’s Day so the resurgence is well timed for a day that not only sees celebrations for many but also that first bit of lawn mowing of the year for some. Let’s hope that the coming May, for me the month associated with any year’s climax, turns out just as well for us.