I was chatting with my mom online the other day and she reminded me that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Reference of course to the fact that I’m in sheep country and coming into spring is lambing season. It’s also a clear reference to the expectation that the weather gets exponentially better during the course of March.
Now that the Ides of March has passed, maybe we can give that old adage some faith. I don’t want to jinx anything, but today is looking like a fabulous day! (Immediately crosses fingers, toes, legs, eyes… anything that can be crossed for good luck/ positivity and good weather is currently being crossed!!)
There are two different indicators to the potential for a lovely day in my neck of the woods.
One is when the early morning is calm and glowing, with hardly a raincloud in sight. On these days, especially in late winter/ early spring (as it is currently) you can hear the birdies twerpeling (I made up that word about a decade ago, doesn’t it have a jaunty feel to it?) and spot a robin or two hopping around. I’m always happy that I decided to plant some windbreak (and privacy) hedging to the side of our front garden. Robins (and certain other birds) gravitate to sheltered spots like hedges, so I’m often greeted with a cheerful red, ball of fluff hopping along on the lawn in the vicinity of the hedge. It never fails to make me smile!
The other harbinger of a truly fabulous day is early morning fog. And no, I don’t just mean a misty morning – which is indeed common when you’re as near to a river or loch as I am. No, I mean proper heavy fog. When the weather is warm (or warming up like it is now) and the fog descends in the early morning so that you can’t see 100metres in front of you, and when you feel warm stillness in the air, that’s your cue to get quietly excited. You see, that’s nature talking to you, telling you to quietly get prepared for the super-duper fantabulous day that will be revealed a few hours later. Once you understand the signs, they will never fail you.
The Hubs has been looking forward to this time for ages now. Fishing season has officially begun! And, to pile excitement upon excitement, the sweet-spot of the fishing day is apparently whenever it’s not too, too sunny. I suppose it’s a bit like photography – if it’s too bright or sunny the contrast will be overdone. A softer, more muted type of daylight is preferred. I guess, if you’re a fish, the bright sunlight will call attention to the shadow of the slightest rod or nylon thread. But, that’s where my effort at understanding the inner-workings of a fish ends!
Last year, during our massive lockdown, the Hubs decided to take up fishing. I’m not sure if I mentioned this to you at the time as I was frantically trying to cram all of the imperative garden projects into the time I had off from work. Of course, at that point ALL of my garden projects were imperative as I was still at the sculpting stage of creating my vision. His efforts, however, brought me great joy and nourishment! We have trout in the lochs around here, and boy do I love trout. It is fresh brown trout – free from anything unnatural. I can’t wait for him to start fishing regularly so we can have fresh fish in the house for the next 6 months! I love fish can you tell!
Here are a couple of pictures from last year.
