Life at The Oaks has been very busy over the past few months. Hence Blogging Silence! However, I could not let Spring slip by without sharing some of her beauty here. So this post is just some snaps, and quotes that resonate with me. I hope with you, too…
The following pictures don’t convey the almost chaotic birdsong, the scent of woodlands carpeted with wild garlic or bluebells, or the riot of spring colours splashing across what is still a fairly muddy landscape. But hopefully they suggest a little of the rejuvenating and optimistic spirit of spring!
The warmth of Spring is in the air. Albeit at times studded with hail, rain and wind.
But the annual optimism, graceful unfurling of leaves, and joyful trumpeting of colours & birds’ chorus’ has returned.
Nature has certainly turned the corner as she so reassuringly does each year.
‘You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry. Don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.’
Walter Hagen
‘It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.‘
Rainer Maria Rilke
‘I must have flowers, always and always.’
Claude Monet
‘Flowers don’t worry about how they’re going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful’
Jim Carrey
‘A flower blossoms for its own joy.’
Oscar Wilde
‘Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.’
Laura Ingalls Wilder
‘Spring is the time of plans and projects’
Leo Tolstoy
‘An optimist is the human personification of spring’
Susan J. Bissonette
‘That is one good thing about this world … there are always sure to be more springs.’
Lucy MaudeMontgomery
In this world of uncertainty – on a personal, community and global level, Nature can be our guide, healer, and comfort.
The Sussex Clay is gradually drying out – and with it limitless possibilities for beautiful walks across fields, through ancient woodlands, and open fields… With the Downs Link being a trusty backstop for routes, no matter what the weather, along reliably sturdy ground!
See a list of suggested walking routes under the heading ‘Local Area’ and sub heading ‘walks’. Or click here.
The Oaks 
Good to see you back, Emma, with your delightful prose accompanying your photographs and fine quotations
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It’s so lovely to hear from you Derrick – and I look forward to “visiting” your beautiful garden soon – it’s such an jnspiration! 🌷
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Absolutely beautiful Emma, lovely Spring flowers especially the Gluebells 😂 the comments made me laugh. You may have to live with that for a while.
I love seeing your part of the world and these fields of flowers are wonderful 🥰
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Ah it’s lovely to hear from you – thank you Bushboy! Life is full of mistakes, but they don’t all turn out to be bad..!🙄
Hope all is going well for you in your part of the world and thanks for visiting! 😊🌸
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All is OK thanks Emma. Hope you have been busy with guests 😀
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👍It’s always so lovely to welcome different people from different places, coming to stay for different reasons – thank you. 🙏🏼
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Quickly asked Mrs. Google about gluebells in NZ, and she wasn’t forthcoming with information.
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No – I’m afraid I have to put my hand up to that typo! Thanks for visiting though! 🌼
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Lovely spring colour and so cheerful. I’ve not heard of gluebells. I’m not sure they exist here. Initially, I thought it was a spelling mistake 😊
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Lovely to hear from you Suzanne. I have to admit, it was a spelling mistake – but true to say that the sight of a woodland totally carpeted with bluebells does stick you to the spot and make you stop and stare for a minute or two!! 😊
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Funny, and yes, I still have vivid memories of hundreds of bluebells in various parts of the UK.
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… and sometimes followed by woodlands full of pure white wild garlic flowers – equally beautiful even if much more pungent (in a “you do like the smell of garlic, don’t you?” Sort of way!)
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I adore garlic. Those flowers are more beautiful visually than aromatic pleasure.
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And they have the added bonus of being really useful in the kitchen, too!
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Reassuring that, however late, it always does get here, Emma. Good to see the colour in your part of the world.
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Thank you Jo – Lovely to hear from you. I hope all is well for you in your part of the world too! 🙂
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Wonderful, thanks! We were fleetingly in the UK for Easter so I saw at first hand the magnolia and tulips. Beautiful!
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Hello stranger! But what a fabulous, optimistic and colourful post to land in my in-box as the hailstones batter against the window. I’m awfully interested in your local gluebells … we only have bluebells round here ;) Welcome back!
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Hello Margaret!
Lovely to hear from you and we had hail this morning too – for a while, but then the sun came out, before I’d got totally soaked – and all was well for the rest of the day.
Gosh have you never heard of Gluebells? You must come to Sussex in Spring… they look very much like Bluebells, but seem to produce some sort of sticky substance which roots any walkers to the ground for several minutes, meaning that all they can do in that time is stand, transfixed at the view… quite mesmerizing… Do come and stay, and see them next year?! In the meantime, thank you for pointing that out! Exx
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Oh THOSE gluebells. Yes, we have those – not quite yet 😉 Yes, we really must come and stay. You’re on the list!
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