April is here! Despite the tradition of St Brigid, according to which the 1st of February is the first day of spring, it’s good to see the arrival of April, because this is when spring comes for real. But this year April arrived with a cold snap, and we even had frost for a couple of days. The week before that we had temperatures up to around at least 15 C (59F) and I’ve dug up an area by the garden wall and planted crocosmia bulbs and bush daisy cuttings, I’ve cut grass and shrubs, picked weeds and even had coffee in the garden! It’s been better again this week but not as warm, and with chilly winds.

After finishing various projects, my head has been empty and I’ve tried to get back to my normal activities but I’ve been quite restless, and needed to allow myself some well-needed, quiet, unplanned time. I’ve made a plan and “to-do” list to get back to my graphic design assignments for next week, and my plan should keep me organised. But with writing, I’m still in some restless kind of mode. It’s like I have nothing to say that is interesting! Or do I? I don’t know anymore. But I do think it’s probably more a matter of me being too busy for too long, and annoyed generally after a lot of bad things happening lately. Getting back to my normal life, the arrival of spring and summer, more time for photography and doing other things that are not necessarily computer-related, should help. Now when I won’t be responsible for photo competitions much longer, I’ll take more time for my own photography, and I’m really looking forward to it.

I put the blog on “I’ll be back soon” mode to fix some problems with my other theme so that I could use it, and make a descriptive front page. It didn’t help with my writer’s block but at least now the blog looks closer to what I wanted – and less the same-ish as my whiskey blog.

I’ve been out more with the camera lately, to enjoy nature waking up from its slumber. So let’s see how spring is progressing! The end of March is when the cherry tree starts blooming, and I can’t get enough of it. These photos are taken in late March. The tree is still in bloom, but won’t be for long.

After the cherry comes the neighbour’s blackthorn tree. Some of it grows on our side of the fence, does that mean it’s our tree? The flowers are pretty, however.

It’s always good to see some spring flowers by the roadside.

My Berberis Darwinii will bloom very soon and I can’t wait to see it!

Lately, it seems like ladybugs have been invading our garden! Maybe they’re always so many and I haven’t seen it before because I haven’t been out so much while they’re mating? Or possibly they are more plentiful this year. What I do know is that they are in every corner of the garden! Some research tells me that the presence of ladybugs is a sign of a healthy ecosystem in your garden, they prey on pests like aphids and the likes, and they are good pollinators too. All good news! Ladybugs are such pleasant insects, especially for a photographer who wants the subject to sit still for a while!

Last but not least, when we had the warm weather and I cut my shrubs and lavenders, I saw the first Irish Pisaura Mirabilis spider.. they are so beautiful and I’ve missed seeing them. In our garden in Sweden, they liked hanging out on my dry lavenders in spring, so I’m not surprised I found this one there. These spiders are usually found in spring on the previous year’s faded plants and grasses. When/if the weather gets less windy I’ll go and look for more.

This year, my goal is to improve my macro photography skills, so prepare to see more close-up photos of bugs, spiders and whatever. I can’t wait to get started!

I hope you are all doing well and have had a good week so far.

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This post is linked with Natalie’s weekend coffee share.