Lazy Sunday

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The title of this blog is somewhat of a misnomer – no such thing as a lazy Sunday in this house. Between getting everything ready for the return to school and work on a Monday morning and the usual household chores and cooking a roast dinner ( with the inevitable hundredweight of washing up!) it gets fairly hectic.
I took an early coffee out into the garden as soon as the sun had come up. Sitting there listening to the blackbirds sing their morning song and reviewing the previous days work in the garden I felt peace and contentment. The roses are sprouting, the alstromerias are pushing on up, the clematis are forming buds, the wisteria is greening and the weigela is covered in a carpet of soft green leaves. Hubby broke the fork handle so it was going to be a day to leave the neglected border to it’s own devices – the borage, the dandelions, the wild garlic could all rest secure in the knowledge of a few days reprieve!
As the sun gained height the scents of the surrounding area started to fill the garden – mimosa in full blossom assaulted the senses, next doors magnolia delicate perfume crept through all underwritten with the hints of leafmould and pine.
As the church bells played the Angelus it was time to go in and get on.
By 4pm everything was done – piles of clean washing all done and put away, the hungry hoards fed and content, mother in law gently snoring on the sofa and even the dog was chewing on her ragger quietly in the corner.
What better time than now to take an after dinner stroll round the village and enjoy the last of the days sunshine. Off we set!!
The mimosa is glorious- great yellow cushions of blooms and it is everywhere. Hawthorn has blossomed in the sheltered valley and wild violets grow in gay abandon. Within gardens you see cherry and apple blossom, chaemomeles, magnolia and hebe. Along the tracks we saw numerous butterflies from the usual early yellow brimstones to the unusual painted lady, the huge black bumblebees droned around us sounding like Hercules transport planes in comparison to their fast jet cousins the honey bees and a dragonfly skimmed down the watercourse flashing green and gold.
A brief visit to the swing park let the junior members of the team let off some steam before we continued on up the hill. At this point the gentle stroll becomes more difficult as the 1:4 gradient tends to take your breath away. We stopped to show the kids the pussy willow and watch the lizards scramble for cover as well as to allow us chance to catch a breather! As the road turned away and we followed the track for home we turned to see what we had climbed for – the snowy peaks of the Pyrenees visible at the end of the valley and the higher glacier peaks peeping over the ridge. It took a lot of internal struggle to turn away from this sight – nature in the raw!
Shattered but content we arrived home. With coffee in hand, we went into the garden to take in the last of the suns invigorating rays. Sighing that a good day was coming to a close we smiled knowing that we lived among such wondrous beauty and could do it all again tomorrow.

• 3 Mar, 2008
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