Flowers in pots and blossom on the trees.

March began with pancake day, chilly walks in the woods, and some gentle late-winter/early-spring nesting as I rearranged furniture and gave corners of the house a refresh.

Sometimes it was dry and windy enough to hang washing on the line, and there were cold but sunny days when I pottered in the garden.

It was the kind of gardening weather where you need a coat but at the same time you can see things starting to open up and unfurl. The kind of weather where you can imagine that spring might be on its way.

I made excellent use of this brilliant potting bench, a birthday present made by my clever dad. I have not planted any seeds this year though. I was going to type then that I failed to do it but no, I did not fail, I just did not have any time due to having a demanding full time job, family and dog. I will happily buy the plants in the garden centre and enjoy them just as much.

Gardening should be a happy thing, therapeutic, not a stick to beat myself with.

But there was something about sweeping the decking and refreshing the pots that made me so happy. Now, when I look out of the kitchen window, I see growth and possibilities. 

The blossom this year had been stunning, especially the magnolia. There are quite a few magnolia trees near us and I love admiring them when walking the dog. 

The last ten days have been gloriously sunny and quite mild, even warm at times, although still very cold first thing. Shafts of bright, low sun slice across the hall and living room in the late afternoons, landing on bunches of flowers.

Grape hyacinths/muscari always grow in abundance in our front garden (it's almost weed-like to be honest) so I enjoy picking bunches of them and bring them indoors. 

Work has been exceptionally busy since January, but almost continually since February half term, with no real let up. Evenings and weekends are often taken up by school work. But, I have found the perfect antidote in the form of this shawl and have been working on this project here and there. I am using yarn I bought at Unravel yarn festival, hand-dyed DK by The Wool Kitchen, and this pattern. The only variance is that I've followed the "stop and drop and pop" style of crochet which my friend Abbie told me about: you follow the pattern and crochet all UK treble/US double crochet stitches until you reach the section of yarn which is multicoloured, when you stop, "drop" the pattern, and crochet a popcorn or puff stitch (the pop), then continue with the pattern again.

The result is a soft, thick, warm shawl in mostly dark grey, with colourful and random pops of colour scattered throughout. I really like it, it's a lot of fun to make.

I have actually just finished it and added a hot pink edge, but have not managed to take any photos yet. I was thinking that it might almost be time to pack the woollens away this year, especially since it has been so warm and sunny this weekend, but no, the weather is set to get colder again before spring truly arrives, so my shawl will get plenty of wear yet.

Snowdrops and snow

Over half term (which feels like a lot longer than a week ago) we went up to North Yorkshire for a short break with John's parents. We stayed in a house with the most beautiful views in Middleham, near Leyburn in Wensleydale. 

The location was right in the heart of the town with four legged neighbours providing much entertainment, as well as the ever-changing sky beyond the hills. 

Middleham is a small, pretty town, easy to explore on foot and with an excellent fish and chip shop. It is dominated by Middleham Castle which was closed when we stayed, but is still impressive to see from the surrounding hills. 

There were tiny paths and alleys everywhere leading in and out of roads, behind houses, through churchyards.

After a five hour drive there and back, we didn't go too far afield during our stay, not wanting ot waste precious hours in the car (not o mention the cost of petrol), but did explore the local towns of Leyburn and Bedale.

After lunch, we would go out for a walk. After one exceptionally windy walk during which two children threatened mutiny half way up a hill, sulked, and turned back, John and I enjoyed the rest of our afternoon walks just the two of us, with Ziggy for company. Bella and Angus were delighted to be able to spend the afternoons hanging out at the house with their grandparents and playing on the old Wii console the house provided. Everyone was much happier this way.

We always walked from the house, through the town and up the hill behind the castle, then taking a different route each time. Then we would meander through the town on the way home as the light faded.

We experienced quite a variety of weather over that week. We travelled up following the storms of mid-February and it remained incredibly windy all week long, especially at the top of the hills. You cant really tell, but in the picture below I could hardly stand up straight as I took the photo and it took all my energy to walk into the wind. We would go out all afternoon, come home frozen, wind-battered and with aching legs from the hills, and then find out we'd actually walked two or three miles. Very disappointing. 

We saw rainbows most days however.

As well as some beautifully clear blue skies. 

The picture above and below are both views of Penhill from park in Leyburn, taken two days apart. I would like to climb Penhill one day, but the wind and weather forecast meant it wasn't very sensible to do while we were there in the winter.

You could see the snow shower rolling towards us as the view seemed to disappear before our eyes. 

The snow didn't settle, so we had all the fun of being caught in a windy snow shower without trouble driving anywhere. We were leaving the next day and the thought of getting up and down steep, narrow roads, without winter tyres, in the snow was not a pleasant one.

But it was such a lovely few days, genuinely restful and restorative. A combination of time with family, walking, reading, crocheting, and the occasional lie in meant we all felt like we had a proper rest.