What a gorgeous day! I think it got to about 16C.
The ground is sucking up the warmth and transferring it to the plants and it seems that things are just starting to explode out of the ground.
My sweetbox is finishing, the snowdrops are close to done, the daffodils are starting to open. The hellebores are almost all open, and the paper bush has its little trumpet shaped blooms fully open.
The viburnum has had its little blooms popping open for weeks, and the leaves are starting to push out of the stems. It’s pink flowers just pop against the cedar hedge and I took the opportunity to pull the Lensbaby Velvet 28 out of the drawer and play a bit with it. It’s a mental shift when I put that lens not he camera because it doesn’t speak to the camera so I have to revert to actually “thinking” about each shot….it’s fully manual and I have to adjust shutter speed, aperture, and ISO to meet the mood and the level of softness I am after. I love these lenses, they are work but the results are just so different.
And they also lend themselves to a little bit of additional play in Photoshop…the first two (below) are the originals.
I walked down to the mall to run a couple of errands (8km) and ….again….seriously…what a bloody gorgeous day.
There was a patch of crocuses that made me pause and pull out my camera for a few photos….I can’t resist purple flowers 😊
It was also a good day for some gardening, though I have to admit that the yard needs so much work it was hard to know where to start and I sort of just picked away at it here and there. But, again….lots of things popping out of the ground so it was a good opportunity to cut a few things to the ground before it becomes difficult to do so without damaging the new growth.
And as I pulled at old leaves and trimmed back ferns….a ladybug stood out like a spotlight on a light coloured rocks.
On another note…the change in weather also seems like a bit of a rally for Gizmo. He had a slip backwards a little over a week ago, having what we assume was a stroke and an associated significant personality change. He’s been back to the vet a couple of times and has had his medications changed, yet again, now seven different medications, six of them twice a day. It’s difficult and challenging and it’s definitely overwhelming me some days….making it hard to focus on the things I need to focus on sometimes. There are times that it’s hard to leave my own day at the door.
However, the change in medications, and the increase in frequency of pain medications, has seen his appetite return, his energy increase, and he has definitely become louder again. He’s whistling and yelling a bit, and we never thought we’d appreciate that.
We have no idea how long it will last, but even the vet seemed a bit amazed by his rebound…he is well past his best before date so at this point, we are just thrilled that he is engaged and happy again.
Winter is hard on everyone; the gloomy days affect us all…humans, dogs, cats, birds…. But spring always seems to bring promise and a lighter feel to the world.
And so we take it day by day.