The sun is brilliant in the sky

"The sun is brilliant in the sky but its warmth does not reach my face.
The breeze stirs the trees but leaves my hair unmoved.
The cooling rain will feed the grass but will not slake my thirst.
It is all inches away but further from me than my dreams."
-  M. Romeo LaFlamme, The First of March

I was going to call this post 'Four Seasons in one day' as last Friday was a typical changeable March day.  The morning started bright and sunny and breezy with an intensely clear and blue sky.  Then the snow started, which turned into hail, then sleet.  Then the sun appeared, then the rain started.  The problem with calling my post that is that I only have pictures of how beautiful and sunny and clear it was first thing!  

Hawthorn

March was always seen as the new year rather than January and you can see why.  Even though the weather is still cold, the days are longer and the sun is brighter and warmer.  The daffodils are coming out, and the smallest of buds are appearing on the bushes and trees.

Lilac

Early flowering shrubs like Forsythia are starting to bloom and the catkins are forming on the hazel trees.

 

The birds are starting to make a lot more noise too.  The blackbirds who fed companionably together on the lawn all winter are now competing for food and space.  The woodpigeons always squabbled and argued with each other of course!

  

We haven't reached spring of course, but winter is starting to come to an end.  By the end of March we will have a number of flowers in the garden and everything slowly starts to green.

The cherry plum is already flowering.  I hope we get more fruit this year.

The beautiful hellebore glowing in the sunshine.  There isn't much else flowering yet in our garden.

"March is a month of considerable frustration -
it is so near spring and yet across a great deal of the country
the weather is still so violent and changeable
that outdoor activity in our yards seems light years away."
-  Thalassa Cruso