Elevenses on a sunny Spanish island

Croissant, café con leche every morning surrounded by bougainvillea and hisbiscus. Every morning the hisbiscus opening more and more to the sun.

Breakfast on a sunny Spanish Island

Pieces of strawberry in creamy yogurt, bits of orange in juice. Papery petals, by the name of bougainvillea, saturated colours of cerise, violet, orange, scarlet.

No need to have the radio on

The best music these days is to be heard outside my window. Imagine not being able to hear the birds chirping - what would those Spring sounds look like?

Appeared from nowhere

This afternoon I was painting. I took a tea break and when I came back, these cherry blossom petals had landed on my desk.

A Green Wave

Nobody knows for certain when Spring begins. Around this time of year a "green wave" can be observed on successive satellite images moving north at a rate of about 100 miles a week.

For astronomers, Spring begins on 21st March, when the sun crosses the equator on its seasonal journey northwards.

Weather people base it on the weather. Meteorologists consider the 3 coldest months (December, January, February) to be winter. So for them Spring begins on March 1st.

Here, the evenings are light til 6.30, the air is filled with birdsong and I don't need my scarf - Spring!

A Stretch In The Evenings

The last days of January have wrapped themselves in Winter, grey skies, trees draped with drops of drizzle - but already the days are beginning to stretch longer. There is an extra half hour of painting in daylight in the evenings. And tomorrow is the first day of Spring.

Nollaig Shona. Christmas greetings.

Wreaths of leaves, red berries and ribbons fluttering on doors. Cosy cups of warm and sweet - gingerbread, cinnamon, orange and cloves. Twinkling lights, glistening through the shortest days and longest nights of the year.