Being in nature, taking some gentle exercise, slowing down and mindfully observing nature around me are important elements in my fibromyalgia management tool kit, so these posts are a way of capturing what’s going on around me and connecting me to the environment.
It feels like spring has well and truly arrived as I write this at the end of March. The past few days have been cold, but prior to this, the warm and sunny weather we have had over the past couple of weeks has almost dried out the footpaths through the fields, which is great after a winter of mud, mud and more mud.
Everywhere, there is a sense of freshness and awakening, from the daffodils appearing along the roadsides at the beginning of the month to the hawthorn leaves starting to appear just last week. Wood anemones are in bloom at the edge of the woods where there is sufficient light. I always love seeing these pretty flowers each year – they can indicate that a woodland area is ancient, so it makes me think about the generations of people who have walked through the same woodland in years gone by.
The bird song is becoming louder and louder as time passes with robins and blackbirds often the most noticeable songsters. I heard my first chiffchaff of the year in the middle of the month. These little birds with their distinctive song are one of the earliest returners to the UK after wintering in warmer climes and as such, are a harbinger of spring that I always look forward to.
I spotted a few butterflies during local walks, mostly commas and brimstones flitting around hedgerows and nettles in the edge of the copse but none as yet in the garden.
Managed to do one longer walk during the month as things weren’t great health-wise for much of it. But getting out and having a change of scenery was wonderful, especially since the spring sunshine was at its best that day. Climbing hills and taking time to admire the views and the soaring red kites in the blue sky really helped top up my waning energy reserves.
In the garden, I managed to plant some vegetables which all seem to be doing well. Hopefully the first of the salad leaves, spinach and radishes will be ready in a few weeks’ time. It’s lovely to see some colour emerging in the borders from primroses, grape hyacinths and the long flowering hellebores. Old favourites such as comfrey, cardoons and hardy geraniums are also coming back to life too.
Our Woodland Trust rowan tree has grown its first leaves after being planted in December. I must admit it did have us worried as nothing seemed to be happening for a long time and we thought perhaps it hadn’t made it through the winter, so the first leaves emerging really were a cause for celebration 🙂
Musings on Life with Fibromyalgia 