Spring Is Here!

There are many indications that spring has arrived.  It's one of my favourite things, to be dandering down a street, perhaps in a bit of a gloomy mood, or tired from traveling, and suddenly I look up and there before me is a tree in full bloom, the first one I've seen so far, and it brings hope to my heart and renewed energy and enthusiasm to my life. 

So I thought I'd share some of this year's spring displays with you.

The snowdrops at Blair Castle, dripping wet from the falling snow....

Fragile pink blossoms at the Edinburgh Zoo, amongst barren trees and brown bushes...

 
At Bothwell Castle in Scotland, a plethora of green and an inkling of pink...

In London, amidst starkly-outlined buildings of grey and blue, a thin and even spindly tree stands tall amongst the modernity, reminding passers-by of beauty, and grace, and a Creator; beauty, right down to the smallest blossom.

And in Amsterdam, a riotous display of colour in these cheerful yellow things...I'm no good at flower names, but I know beauty and cheer and joy and hope when I see it.  And having just come out of the Van Gogh museum, learning about a man who fought the darkness his whole life, who painted many things but chose to paint sunflowers three different times, with three different backgrounds, this abundance of yellow lit up my world for just a moment.

May these expressions of spring light up your world with a little beauty, too. 

And go out there and take it in.