Early Thursday morning I woke up at blue hour, the twilight hour just before sunrise where the sun kindly sits just below the horizon. I slipped on my glasses and glanced around the room, I could just about make out the shadows in my bedroom. According to my watch, it was a little past five thirty in the morning. I still had a little over an hour to sleep before getting up.
It’s nearly the end of March and the sunrise is now at 6:11am; that means Spring is just around the corner. In fact, tomorrow is the first day of the new season.
Despite the morning grey skies and late evening rain, the days in London have been washed in hues of blue, the sun peaks from hooded clouds, and pink and orange sunrises have returned - there’s a sense of warmth and glee. Parks, houses and local schools are lined with bursting yellow daffodils.
Each day I track the weather app like an oracle, crossing my fingers hoping for the sun to appear at least once in the week. Next to the weather emoji is the temperature, but I have to determine the real temperature - “is it a warm and humid 13 degrees or will a cold chill appear out of nowhere?” All of this determines what I’ll wear and whether I have to bring the heavy coat out of the closet again.
I think about preparing the garden for plants, about sowing seeds indoors, and adding chicken manure pellets to fertilise the soil for when I repot larger vegetables later on. The tulips that my mother planted over three years ago, the ones that border the edge of the garden, have begun to push their way through the soil and broken bark. Big, thick green leaves protrude from the ground. I remember them being a combination of bright red, maroon and yellow tulips.
Several other flower bulbs - though I’ll admit that I can’t recall in the slightest what I’ve planted - have yet to show themselves. I recall haphazardly digging holes all around the borders of the garden in late Autumn last year, shoving bulbs in and covering them back up, hoping the dogs wouldn’t dig them out again. I should’ve made a note on my phone of what they were.
This morning I stood outside with my coffee and heard the familiar tap tap tap of a spotted woodpecker in the neighbours tree. Hearing that soft drumming is usually one of the first signs that Spring is on its way.
Ah, this makes me so hopeful for spring. Thanks 🙏
Lovely, Natalie. The season comes ever closer!