Saw the first wisteria bloom on the commute to office this week.
It brought me joy. I love them. I look forward to their bloom every year, even more than I do the spring bulbs and the autumnal leaf colours.
Then I realised the date. It made me sad. This bloom was early by a month. Wisteria don’t bloom till well into May.
Planted 60 lavender plugs.
First we got a week of glorious, uninterrupted sunshine.
Then, over the weekend, we got two days of crazy strong easterly winds with a mix of sunshine, cloud, and sleet.
Today, and for rest of the week, we’re back to the normal British spring time weather of grey gloomy clouds.
The changeover reminded me of old TV sets. When we switched channels, there was a brief period of electronic noise before the new channel started playing. The weekend’s crazy weather was like that electronic noise while switching the weather channels.
Some from the flower bed behind the house…
And some from the road side flowers on the walk up the hill…
I had a mild headache and bad tinnitus when I slept last night.
I woke up with a headache, and the tinnitus returned soon after. So I skipped the morning work session, and went back to sleep. Woke up late, then spent another few hours reading in bed. The headache had only become a bit worse.
Now, finally, I’ve managed to get rid of the headache.
How?
Simple remedy, and one with no negative side effects (other than her cursing me for stealing her dessert stash).
Spring is definitely* my favourite season in the UK. Lots of colour, lots of freshness, lots of new lives (leaves, rabbits, dear), and the trails have not yet been taken over by nettles and thorns.
Spring > Autumn > Summer = Winter
#ILoveSpring
Today was one of those beautiful spring days that makes living through the winter worthwhile.
It was sunny, but not hot.
There was a cool wind, but neither a gale, nor freezing.
And there was plenty of beautiful walking and riding done.
Met Charlie again on the walk today. Chewie & Charlie had a few mins of fun running around, again. At the end of an already beautiful walk.
Bike had a flat front tyre – a pinch flat, probably from the last ride. Quickly changed tubes, got a few mins of rest (while catching the Giro), and off we went – Raghi & I – on another beautiful Sunday’s ride in the shire.
We’d considered a few new routes for this weekend. But R wasn’t feeling too great before we headed out, so ended up riding the usual route out to Shere & back. With a couple new easy, beautiful climbs thrown in.
Despite starting off tired – in head more than body – and needing a gel after just 11K on the flat, R surprised us both on today’s ride. She comfortably managed to climb both the new climbs without stopping. She even managed our backyard climb, Down’s lane, without a single stop or slowdown. But what was most surprising, was that she let me eat ice cream at our turnaround point in Shere. She must have been in a really good mood! ;)
Post-ride plan was to not eat anything than a bowl of cottage cheese after the ride. A cold shower later, it quickly went for a toss. Ended up eating a bucket load of cashews and peanuts, some mini carrots with hummus, and that bowl of cottage cheese. And that was apart from the dinner & dessert. So much for control!
Yesterday’s stupid (and lovely) evening run meant that my step target jumped by almost 500 steps (as predicted) to over 10,200 steps. A morning walk and playing with Chewie in the backyard wasn’t going to meet this. So, went for another post dinner walk.
A lap to the crossroads with music. Then, dropped Jyoti at the station.
And another lap to the crossroads with Chewie!
This boy wants to come along on my walks no matter how tired or sleepy he is. I wouldn’t be surprised if, a decade from now, he gets up from his deathbed because dada seems to be going for a walk.
:) :( :)
It’s still spring time, but the weather today belonged in mid summer – temperatures in high 20s, bright sunshine with no clouds in sight, and a gentle breeze just to help stay cool
I went for my first bike ride (non commute/transport) in almost 11 months – the first since the mammoth 150+mile day in Wales last June.
It. Was. Beautiful.
Loved the feel of rolling along on a road bike on our Surrey roads and lanes. Beautiful sunshine, and fresh green leaves everywhere. The gentle SSE breeze helping stay cool on the way out, and helping out the tiring legs on the way back. The beautiful stream side in Shere, and a happy ride partner. It was so good that even the 3-4 dickheads in cars who attempted injury/murder couldn’t piss me off for too long.
Loved it! :)
(Returning to news of City & Arsenal drawing helped too – that 4th place is now in our own hands, 2 wins away.)
Add in an evening spent playing with Chewie, listening to soft jazz and enjoying the (now) pleasant chill in the air. The day could scarcely have been better.
On to the work week tomorrow – lots of SMR follow-ups, and IDT feature devs for me, and likely the last week in office for R.
Happy end to a happy week :)
