Nature delights as she starts a New and Wonderful year.

Each day I wander down to the bottom of my garden to see the snowdrops.   From the muddy leaf covered ground once again they appear, peeping green shoots.  In no time  the clumps of white buds open their petals and show their pretty flowers.  I wonder if they know just how pleased we are to see them.  I picked a handful and placed them in the kitchen window, each time I wash the dishes I marvel at their clean white petals.   It is magical how they appeared  again on time, when we so needed to see some sign that spring is on the way.  Today I felt so happy to see all my bulbs growing, the first yellow daffodils flowering,  blue and white crocus starting to open.   I planted lots of new bulbs last Autumn and feel like a child waiting for them to flower.

 My fritillary are coming on well and I even noticed one has got off to a fast start showing a bud already.   I have been sitting drawing in front of the window so each  time I look up I can see the view across the shore to the Lakeland hills.  Our lovely view, always changing, always so inspiring whatever the season.  Rainbows and sunsets and blue sky,   as I need to remind myself of the promise of more  colour in these gloomy grey days of winter.

 
There is always a pot of gold  here, natures treasures to find.

Beautiful sunsets to end the day.

The blackbirds are pulling out moss from the lawn and flying off into the Ivy with  their beak full of moss and grass.  A nest is being build!  The birds are singing.

The primroses are coming too along with all my memories of childhood collecting them along the hedgerows.  Now I only pick them from my own garden and enjoy seeing them on my walks because sadly they are no longer as plentiful and common as when I was a child and they grew in huge clusters and nobody minded you picking a bunch or two.

This is one of my favourite views, I always stop and stand  and look down across the estuary leaning on the wooden gate.  This place is so special,  I have spent my life here and I am so lucky to have been born in such a beautiful environment.   Just as the snowdrops  grow like a miracle each new year,  I am hoping there will be another.

There is a sadness that it may be blighted by huge, well no giant metal pylons to carry electricity to the national grid from a proposed nuclear power station up the coast.  They have proposed to build the route around the estuary and across the village and along this side of the estuary. On New Year's Eve I made a banner  which I painted, " NO PYLONS  .  SAVE OUR BEAUTIFUL DUDDON ESTUARY.   NO PYLONS ".   We placed it on the shore between two fence posts .  It was a day when people came together to make their feelings heard and walked from two villages to  gather here.   I wrote a letter with my feelings,  along with many others, it would certainly have a great effect on our lives and on our well being if it is allowed to happen.