Spring carpet.

The countryside is looking so beautiful now with its many shades of green set off by splashes of gold as rapeseed blooms take hold.  Distant vistas beckon and dazzle but, look down, there is treasure to be found as pretty wild flowers carpet the ground.

take care ~
in searching for the stars
don’t step on dreams

On the edge.

The countryside is on the doorstep of this small town and wraps itself around the buildings.  One part of it here…

 Cows in a distant meadow

 Horses by the River Thinte

 One of the roads out of town where a little blue bridge crosses the river...

cows to the left, horses to the right.

It was good to get out into the sunshine but it was surprisingly hot so I was grateful for a bench on the mill path and was able to sit and enjoy the view.  Later a quick rest on our bench outside the house before I could face the stairs and a welcome cuppa! All worth it though.

Spring has sprung!

As expected, the “sting” of the final days of winter arrived but have now, happily, departed - and we hope it stays that way!

Indoors of course plants are not bothered and we are pleased to see four beautiful trumpet flowers on the amaryllis and signs on our grape vine that we should see a few bunches of grapes later this year.  In 2014 this little vine produced 30 bunches of grapes so we understood last year when not even one bunch appeared;  it must have been exhausted!

Of course the plants in our garden room has been given much TLC by my husband - as has the pretty, little apricot tree he has grown from an apricot stone.  No sign of fruit yet but…one day…

Outdoors spring has fully arrived and is a riot of new growth…so many shades of green splashed with the gold of rapeseed all glowing from the sun shining from a blue bowl.   
         

Spring really is my favourite season.

Scorpion Winter.

Spring is a tease this year.

After what seemed never-ending days, weeks, months of grey, wet and cold weather, last Monday sunshine finally arrived - and just in time for friends who were visiting from Monday evening until Thursday morning.  They appreciated the change, having come directly from visiting some of their other friends in Switzerland where it rained the whole time they were there.

Throughout their stay with us, the sky was blue letting very warm sunshine into our lives.  We revelled in it as our spirits lifted. 

Although they were only here for two full days, we were able to show them some parts of this beautiful area which really looked its best with carpets of wild flowers and bushes and trees in bloom below a brilliant blue sky.

On Friday, the sky was overcast.  Today, Saturday, we woke to the remains of overnight rain, drizzle all morning and a very cold wind this afternoon.  A local lady told me we can expect snow tomorrow!

We are very grateful we were blessed with such brilliant weather for our visitors but it looks as if we again can expect a Scorpion Winter - one with a sting in its tail.

In search of blossom...

Over the past few weeks I have been contained mostly indoors at home or at the hospital by not only two patients in the house but too many grey, cold, wet days.  Today I couldn’t resist the call of blue sky and  sunshine and went just for a short stroll with camera at the ready to capture the blossoms that caught my eye…

Tiny pink flowers among the red leaves.

Flowers on a laurel hedge were a magnet for bees.

Like me, daisies raise their faces to the sun.

Flower boxes surround the Pharmacie shop and car park.

Paper flowers in the Pharmacie window.

…my eyes were not disappointed.

The sunshine warmed me but a light breeze from the south soothed my brow.

To my ears’ delight I heard the happy chirping of sparrows, the buzz of bees and a blackbird’s beautiful song.

My mind calmed and my spirits lifted.

What a wondrous tonic is nature, particularly in springtime.

Chasing the ball.

This haiku was chosen by poetry moderators as Pick of the Month for March 2016 in the Haiku Forum on Writers' Dock. 

a night owl not a lark
but when family calls
I rise and sing

It succinctly sums up the start of each day for the past weeks as nurses come to our house every morning to attend to the now two patients in the house - my husband, recovering from a knee operation and our daughter who has been suffering for about two years now with ulcerated legs and oedema, which has caused her to be admitted to hospital on several occasions and needing daily nursing care when at home.  Her husband often has to go to the UK now regarding their new business there, they having sold the business that brought us all to France ten years ago. 

Life often throws curved balls and all we can do is to follow those curves as we race to catch the ball.