And here is another proof that Spring has indeed already arrived, even though the weather outside seems to be saying otherwise (windstorms, hail, heavy rain - you name it, we've already had it these last few days...). It's a stork! When they arrive here, in Poland, after a long journey from the other hemisphere, it's a sure sign that it's Spring. I've spotted this one a few days ago, it's the first one I've spotted this year :-) t was already pretty dark, so the photo is not of the best quality, but it's an undeniable proof! And how is your Spring-hunting going?
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I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about - today is 21st March, which is the 1st Day of Spring :-) Well, at least officially, since the weather is still not exactly very Spring-like... But I'm actually optimistic, it can't be long now, especially that yeasterday we went to a botanical garden in order to hunt down first signs of Spring, and there were a few - still small, still shy, but definitely there! Here is what I've found, and the reason for being optimistic ;-)
I guess I'm not the only person on this hemisphere who by now impatiently awaits first signs of Spring. And since March has already started, I went to look for them this past weekend. I admit, it was rather optimistic of me to expect to actually find something, but I did! First, small, very few and rather tentative buds, but they were there, defying the still-frozen and snow-covered soil, as well as the still freezing temperatures! So yes, it's hard to spot as yet, but Spring is definitely coming - although slowly - and here is the proof:
No, I haven't lost my mind and I'm not trying to give you false hope; I do realize that it's -10 Celsius degrees outside and the sky is permanently overcast with snow clouds. Not to mention that it’s February 17th, not March 21st, not the day when Keukenhof opens and Easter is still far away – so however you mark the official beginning of Spring, it’s not today. But I just can't help it, the grey Warsaw winter makes me long for it to end even more than is usual for this time of the year! But while I have no control over the seasons and the weather, I do have control over my blog (at least most of the time… as long as the server and my Internet connection are cooperating willingly ;-). So as of today it’s Spring on The Creative Life, which you probably have noticed by now – I’ve launched an entirely new theme and layout on this occasion. There’s green, there’re tulips and daisies and cats – and thus we have Spring :-) I hope you like it, since it’s here to stay for the next few months! You might remember that some time ago I wrote a post describing Christmas decorations in a German garden centre, the one in Wildau, next to the A10 shopping centre. As I said back then, walking through it is almost like wandering in a winter wonderland... And here is the promised second part of the photos - for inspiration, of course! :-)
God, it really is winter, isn’t it… The temperature hasn’t risen above -10oC for over a week now, and snow is lying everywhere. And to think that I spent 5 years of my life abroad explaining to everyone that contrary to the common believe and stereotype, Poland does not lie close to the Siberia, there are no polar bears roaming the streets and that there hasn’t been a severe winter in years… Well, it seems we have one now – and every morning I observe a lot of very unhappy drivers busy digging out their cars – and it literally is digging out, and I have photos to prove it! A few days more of snowing, and they’ll be looking for their cars under uniform heaps of snow… These photos were taken the day before yesterday, so it's actually worse now! This is how cars in front of our building looked yesterday morning: Some of the snow has melted during the day, but this morning it started snowing again - it's practically a snow storm out there right now, with heavy clouds and strong gusts of wind which push the snow in every imaginable direction. So this is how the first snow of the year in Warsaw looks like:
Have you ever heard about the Jacana? They’re a species of birds which is a perfect illustration of the saying “to grow into one’s shoes/feet.” Since these tropical birds tend to run on all kinds of water-covering foliage, such as water lily leaves, Mother Nature fitted them with really big feet. This by itself is not so strange of course, but bear with me for a moment longer. This is how an adult Jacana looks like: The adults are not very big, but the young ones are really, really tiny – their body has maybe 5cm in height and 3cm of circumference, except…they’re already born with these enormous feet! And I guess later on they “grow into them” – take a look, they seem to be a small ball of feather balancing precariously on feet 3 times their size! Nothing can be as creative as Mother Nature ;-)
The hot Summer we’re having right now seems to be problematic for everyone and everything except… butterflies. I’ve never seen so many of them flying around, flaunting the amazing patterns on their wings. So now is also the best time to hunt them with a camera – visit my new Butterfly Gallery in the Galleries section for inspiration! The adjective „cute” might not be the most sophisticated one in our vocabulary, but there are things which are really hard to describe as something other than cute (or even mega-cute ;-) One perfect example are these fluffy balls of cute delight – two small kittens which kept us entertained during the weekend at my grandmother’s house. They’re so much fun to watch, and a real challenge to catch with a camera – they’re faster than you’d think, and they love to hide. Just look at them – a huge portion of cuteness you cannot pass by without notice!
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August 2012
AuthorA fiery red head, a writer and a photographer in love with beautiful design and all things creative |