Reflection Through The Seasons

HAIL TO THE SPRING!

The season when the countryside comes alive again. This picture of my garden illustrates well the stark contrast between how it looks today and how it looked on that snowy February morning...... shown in my last post.

Isn’t it just the most delicious time of year, each day beginning with a dawn chorus of bird song....... our meadows, pastures, hedgerows and gardens are full of the prettiest spring flowers........ and bright, warm sunny days tempt us to linger out of doors and enjoy the visual brilliance and sweet fragrance that abounds right now.

The mowing of lawns is a frequent sound right now and the exquisite smell of freshly cut grass lingers in the air..........

........and garden retreats are tidied up to be enjoyed again.

THE HOPE AND PROMISE OF EASTER
I hope you all enjoyed a blessed Easter. On Good Friday John and I joined the procession of the cross through our town...... stopping at each church and chapel along the way where a hymn was sung together with a prayer and reading. The picture below shows us nearing the end of our walk as we approach the church we attend.

Here the cross comes to rest at the end of its journey....... to be decorated in flowers for Easter Sunday.

Later on in the day we joined the local narrow gauge steam train as it set off to tell the Good Friday story fittingly named ‘Stations @ Stations’ a journey that depicts the 14 Stations of the Cross...... commemorating the last journey of Christ from his trial to his burial. The train paused at each of these stations along the track enabling passengers to alight for prayer and meditation.

It was such a beautiful evening with masses of bluebells, primroses and daffodils in flower in the hedgerow. The occasion was well supported by local people and also visitors from afar....... we were joined in our carriage by Maureen, a charming lady who was a visitor from New Zealand, she was great company and like everyone else she thoroughly enjoyed the event. There was a collection for the diocese of Matebeleland at the end and the fantastic sum of £760 was raised

The Bishop of Bangor joined us.......

Wonderful views were enjoyed as we travelled along........ here a little village nestles on the hillside. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you will see that the fence, like many in this area, is made up of slabs of slate.

The road below runs alongside the railway track.......

Here we arrive at the end of the track for a reading.

NEW WOODLAND

A new woodland has recently been planted on the outskirts of our village courtesy of The Woodland Trust......... It was a great occasion that allowed local school children and the community to join in the planting of trees........ something that will not only be enjoyed by future generations but will provide habitat for many species of wildlife. Isn't it an exquisite setting for this woodland.

We chose to plant oak trees. This tree I planted in memory of my Mother

This oak was dedicated to our dear friends Betty & Edward in America

BICYCLE RIDES
Now that spring is with us John and I are enjoying bicycle rides again. It is such a joy to experience our glorious countryside this way..... taking in the wonderful scenery, fresh air and the fragrance of the season along the way.

It can be hard going around these undulating lanes, but the views are worth the effort.

Around each bend in the lane, pretty sights are found........

Glorious golden gorse cover the hillsides. If you click on this picture below you'll see in the background some of the 10,000 trees that have been planted, representing the 10,ooo children born in Wales each year.

And my final picture is of the sun as it sets over the sea.

I would like to thank all of you who left comments and sent emails wishing me well with recent health issues. I have since had results of scans taken and with great relief, further investigations reveal that the 'something' that had been detected has been confirmed as being a cyst.