Sunday, March 13, 2016

The Promise of Spring

Now that the snow is suddenly and almost completely gone, signs of the coming spring are all around us.  I went out to check the garden to see what I could find.

The buds on the Forsythia are looking ready to burst into yellow flower, but I think we need some actual warm weather, not merely above freezing.

All the trees and shrubs also have buds ready to unfold; this is a Blue Ash, with its unique 4-sided stem.

And we do have one tiny patch of 4 little Snowdrops, the first thing in the garden to bloom this year.

But the Dwarf Blue Iris will be close behind, up an inch out of the ground already.

The Day Lilies don't so much emerge from the ground as 'perk up' and look ready to grow again.  I think they're slightly green all winter under the snow.

And in the veggie garden, the Rhubarb is the first thing to show among the leaf mulch.  We have some great Rhubarb plants!

****

I've seen European Starlings and several Red-winged Blackbirds, and heard a few American Robins, but the feeders are suddenly abandoned as the birds head out to forage for their natural foods among the trees, bushes and weeds of the meadow.  Not nearly as easy to practice bird photography now.

My walking fell off badly during February and early March, between the warm weather and rain, leading to ice when it froze, and bitter cold, plus then being under the weather for a couple of weeks.  But I'm pleased to say that I'm back to averaging an hour a day this week.  And today for the first time I got my bike out - unheard of in March!  It's a neat bike, so I've included a picture.

When I had some serious illness in 2007, I could no longer ride a bike, at least not uphill.  So I invested in a magic electric bike.  It's a basic mountain bike first, but then it has a magical motor and sensor in the rear wheel, along with a heavy-duty battery.  You can set it to 4 levels of assistance, and there's also a quick boost lever for a short rise in the trail.  Don't get me wrong, it does not take over and run the bike for you; if you stop pedalling it stops.  But it can sense how hard you are pedalling, and maintain the bike on uphill stretches so that it's the equivalent of pedalling on flat ground.  I love it, and it means I can keep biking, so a bike ride is going to be a regular part of my cardio starting now.


Linking to:

19 comments:

  1. Spring is wonderful and love your bike !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely spring photos. We have Daffodils and the Iris are starting to send forth some leaves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crazy to hear that you are out on the bike already! I've seen a few crocuses out here already!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the bike, and I'm glad to see spring in evidence in your part of the world! And I'm glad to know you're back into the fitness routine. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the signs of spring. Happy riding!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Signs of spring give us a big lift.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's amazing how fast spring arrives once the snow is gone.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great macros. I really like the shot of the Iris popping out of the ground all together. I remember when I used to cycle to work some years ago I was following an old bloke & I was struggling to keep up with him. When I finally caught up at a red light I discovered he had an electric bike.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello, lovely signs of spring. The snowdrops are pretty. The bike is cool! Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning ...
    Love your images and the signs of Spring.
    Your bike looks great, happy cycling.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad to see spring has finally sprung up there . I to love bike riding have done since I was a kid and belonged to a long distance cycling club when I was younger , to this day I still love to hop on my bike and just ride for hours . Oh that is a great bike it will help with those long drawn out hill climbs that just suck the energy out of one that's for sure . Lovely photos . Thanks for sharing , Have a good day ! No biking here today it has been raining since last night .

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your Ash buds look so different to ours which are matte black. I'm in Switzerland just now , up a mountain, so spring hasn't sprung yet. But it has been springing to varying degrees in London since mid January. Ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice bike! Great signs of spring. We have buds popping out everywhere. Hope they don't get nipped with the frost.

    ReplyDelete
  14. that's an awesome bike, i will have to remember this type of bike is available. i have struggled many times on my bike, as i have MS. when my symptoms ramp up, i am not able to ride. i have a 3 wheel bike but that is also difficult to ride when i am not feeling well!!!

    spring is springing!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great looking bike.
    I love seeing the first signs of spring. : )

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful signs of spring there already! I found my crocus blooming today next to the house and also I saw 2 red-winged blackbirds in the yard. That bike is amazing and is something that I could use for sure. If I were to get serious about biking I think I'd invest in one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Spring is such a wonderful time of year.

    ReplyDelete