Detail Diary, Vol #11
Petals and branches
February 25 - March 9, 2024
Dear friend,
Spring has been easing in here for so long now, it’s almost surprising to still see so little green. The early blooms and catkins are dense and vivid wherever they can conspire to be, getting their business done with the bees and flies and wind before the leaves have gotten out of bed. Full-blossomed cherry trees sashay through the bare arboretum like dryads; primroses seem to carpet the ground more thickly every day. A spell of chill kept (lazy) me off the river path for a while, and the next time I cycled through, it was garlanded brightly enough to keep up with the aural festooning of birdsong. Forsythia is out in full force, daffodils, quince, crocuses; and I expect the next Detail Diary volume will feature magnolias.
There are little signs of leafing, and I look forward to all that tender green. But I will miss the stark geometry and scraggly scribbling of the branches, too.
P.S. I celebrated my one-year anniversary of living in France last week! The primroses, cherry blossoms, and birds welcomed me just as warmly a year ago, though (if I recall) a few weeks later.
Meanwhile, the first birthday of Anne of Green Places is not far behind!
Here is your usual reminder that this post is best viewed on the web or in the Substack app! Clicking on a Note will also take you to the browser to see its full text and sometimes additional photos. For an introduction to my Detail Diary, see here, or peruse past volumes.
Managed to get a photo the next day, but man is my phone camera terrible at birds.
I know the feeling trying to photograph birds… even with my camera!
Happy one year in France Anne… here’s to many more!
Winter and Spring are still having a wrestling match in my woods, so thank you for sharing the blossoms from yours!