The first signs of spring are so important in terms of lifting the heart and soul, especially when the cold and damp of an English winter are wearing us out.  Some families have been planting snowdrops ‘in the green’ on graves, and these are always quicker to come into flower than the bulbs.  For me, it is always the first showing of these little creatures in flower that makes the difference, bulbs that have been hiding under the growth of summer, then the cold earth of winter, whose first leaves are almost impossible to notice.  They flower as if at first terribly shy, faces to the ground, but slowly they find the confidence and strength to stand and shine.

Snowdrop

Heading up to Sun Rising at 8 this morning through the snow, the sun was just beginning to break through the clouds, that pale blue of an English winter sky starting to come through.  The burial ground looked just beautiful.

Yellowhammer searching for food in the snow

I took a shot of this little fellow with robins, sparrows, dunnocks, blackbirds and tits, on and under the birdfeeders.  A rabbit was there too, looking a good deal warmer in fur than the rest of us.

If you go to Sun Rising, do be careful of icy patches.  Although the snow has mainly melted in the sunshine, out of the sun it is very cold and due to remain so.

Winter is a challenge for many.  It is not unusual for people to hold on through the summer months, to let go in the cold of winter, so it is a busy for funeral directors and natural burial grounds like ourselves.  Being outdoors in all weathers can be hard work, and where life is hard the need to find beauty and inspiration is greatest. At Sun Rising, the first shoots of daffodils leaves are coming through the grass.  Primroses are flowering on the occasional grave, hardy and determined, despite the heavy frosts.  Catkins are hanging from the bare branches of a few of our hazel trees, tight and pale at first, growing in in length until, honey-yellow, they open.  The tender new buds of growth on the dog roses are another sign that is heartening. A task of these cold winter months is to cut back the hedges.  Around the car park we’ve just done this, giving a tidy feel for the new growth to come.  Allowing a little curve on the top to avoid the unnatural straight lines created by the side-arm flails along the country lanes, we hope the hedge will bush up well this summer.  Maybe this time next year we’ll be able to lay the hedge.

The Trimmed Car Park Hedge at Sun Rising

Do let us know what signs of you spring you find at the burial ground and around the nature reserve?

Here’s another beautiful image of autumn at Sun Rising : the dogwood in berry.  The dogwood leaves are such a rich array of colours at this time of year, the stems so bright amidst the grey of leafless hawthorn and blackthorn, but only when those leaves are a backdrop to the berries does the full nature of the plant shine out.

Dogwood Berries

It isn’t just a hint of the colours that this picture shows, but the grace of nature, the elegance of the leaves.  Look at the leaf to the top/right of the berries: like the poised hand of a dancer.  And when the leaves fall, softly drifting down, almost in silence, it inspires us again.