February - Signs of Spring?

"Why what's the matter that you have such a February face, so full of frost, of storm and cloudiness?"

Much Ado About Nothing - William Shakespeare

Hello there my lovelies,

I'm still croaking a little but feeling a tad more chipper than yesterday at least.  Hopefully the lurgy is on it's way out thank goodness.

Isn't the above quote fabulous?!   I used to think February was mean and bitter - neither here nor there twixt Winter and Spring and the quote sums it up beautifully.  Today is a case in point.  An icy cold blow, damp, grey and miserable.  However as we're approaching the latter part of the month, isn't it great to find that the evenings are gradually drawing out again as the wheel of the year gently turns. 

On the face of things, my garden is looking drab and dreary and so very different from the blaze of geraniums and lavender which graced my pots and baskets from mid-summer through to late autumn last year.  The cats have exploited the fact that I'm not out there every day scooting and scolding them out of my borders and I will leave the resulting damage to your imagination!  I'm incredulous that all three of them use my garden and - it seems - my lawn! as a proverbial 'dumping' ground when there is a ten acre field out back!!!   WHY?!!  The varmints!!   Despair was me as I was pottering around the garden this morning - the amount of work needed to pull it back to it's former glory weighing heavy on my heart (and turning my stomach a little it has to be said!)

Looking a little more closely however I was heartened to see some hints that Mother Nature is already in the process of donning her more glamourous garb and pushing Spring our way. 

A tiny primula with a single flower!

My beautiful Dicentra Spectrablis has survived another year it seems!  Although that picture makes it look like some weird anenomes under the sea!!  Mad!!

And..... hopefully....(dratted camera battery ran out before I snapped them) but I spotted the tips of the shoots of the deepest darkest black tulips planted last year which I had completely forgotten about!

Doesn't it make you feel a little better knowing that the earth is waking again? 

Now where's the poop scoop?!!

 OO!!! How could I have forgotten this very important happening!!  In other news - our girls have done us proud - they laid their very first egg today!  To say that I was chuffed was an understatement.  Here it is look:-

Is it sad to take a photograph of an egg I wonder?

Well..... probably even more sad to take a photograph of TWO eggs!!

Yup! After five weeks of cajoling and waiting they presented us with not one egg but two!! We found the second one (still warm I hasten to add!) when we returned from shopping this afternoon!  Double chuffed!!

Here they are - you can see how much they've picked up - they're all so glossy and healthy looking now - must be the mealworms and spinach they've been being spoilt with!! 

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, whatever you're up to.

K xxxxx