Signs of Spring

Today is misty with intermittent drizzly rain, which seeps into one's bones and makes it feel colder than it probably really is. However I felt I just HAD to get out and get some fresh air today. There's no wind and I can hear a cacophony of sound from the birds. The wrens seem to be marking out their territory. The starlings are chattering around. Down on the shore there's a lot of screaming from the gulls and I can hear lapwings and oystercatchers too. I saw a sparrow dive into a hole in the wall so it must be nest building time.

And all the plants are sprouting - the rosa rugosa, the willows, bulbs are beginning to come into flower and even a few daisies were blooming despite the drear day!

I still have the tail-end of a virus and lack energy but it was refreshing to get out and "take the air"!

Even Button has a spring in her step these days with the milder weather and calmer days. Though *snow* is potentially forecast for next week.

The cattle are remain indoors in sheds for a few more weeks, and I don't think anyone on Graemsay has started this year's calving, though I know some folk on Hoy who have had several sleepless nights already. Lambing hasn't started on the island yet either, though will be within a few short weeks and then it will be a busy time on the farms. I love watching the lambs in the fields, but I'm glad I don't have to get up and walk round the fields at dawn checking the flock!