Best thing about Spring....

[martin]

One of the things that I like to do in the spring is to make Pine needle tea.
Here's my method...
First I tap a Birch for the sap. While the sap is collecting (this can take a couple of hours :roll: ) go and find some pine needles.
Put the sap on to boil and chop the needles in to short lengths (5-10mm). Once the sap has boiled remove from the heat and allow to cool a little and add the needles (if you add the needles to boiling sap it destroys the vitamin C). Leave to steep for a few minutes then sieve through a hand full of soft rushes into a cup. Drink it while its hot.


Whats your "Best thing about spring"?

 

[jakunen]

The promise of the warm summer nights under the stars...

 

[Toddy]

That lovely calm still light, first thing in the morning before everyone else is awake, and the world is quiet of the noise of people and radios and motors. Crisp, fresh, cold air. Me and the cat sitting on the back step, feeling the warmth of the first of the Sun, and the birds waking up their feathers, and the hedgehog snuffling sleepily under the blackcurrants, an early bee in the heather, the fox down on the burn path and the squirrels in the ivy.......soon

Toddy

 

[RovingArcher]

Around here, it's our best weather for outdoors activities and it's the time when the Earth starts coming alive with the birth of new life.

 

[Snufkin]

Being in the woods in the rain, the smell of damp earth, the sound of raindrops hitting fresh new leaves. The promise of new life and warm days

 

[bambodoggy]

For me it always has been and always will be the smell of fresh new spring rain.....the smell comes a few mintures before the rain and as thr water washes the landscape I breath in deeply and feel happy to be alive.....I know some find it a little acrid or odd smelling but I love it.....

There's buds starting to come out on a few of the pollarded trees in my back garden......won't be too long to wait now.... ):


Toddy....sounds lovely were you guys are, no matter what time of the day or night I'm out in my garden or local woods...I can still hear the quiet rumbling hum of the M3 and there's always the faint glow of a towns sodium lights on the horizon.....

 

[Squidders]

Daylight... lots and lots of daylight.

Also the dawn chorus is so much nicer in spring than at any other time of year.

 

[Justin Time]

I'm with Squidders on this.. as much as I love cold winter weather I need a few more hours of daylight to function well and come out of hibernation.

I love the new greenery coming through, the frothiness of hawthorn, the flowers on the blackthorn.

Looking out for the returning migrant birds is tops for me though.. seeing the first Wheatears on the coast... Listening out for Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs.. watching for the first Sand Martins to come up the river and then the growing avalanche of numbers and species filling the re-awakening fields and forests with sound and movement.

A couple of years ago I spent a night awake in the local forest in early May.. watching the badgers until the light went and then trying to follow them by sound... keeping tabs on the foxes by sound again... then at some time after three the sky seemed lighter, the Tawnies gave their last hoots, perhaps clocking off from their shift.. and were replaced by the Robins first attempts at singing for the day..soon joined by the Blackbird with a bit of subsong.. and gradually, imperceptibly, others waking up, joining in, tits, thrushes, warblers, flycatchers, crows, till the roar of the dawn chorus means you can't pick out individual song. And then the sun is up, and it's light enough to feed so they go about their business.. too early for me to go to my bed though.. so followed some badgers tracks through the forest.. and was rewarded with a big patch of pig nuts that I didn't know about, thanks Badgers.

Right, I'm off it's a great sunny morning.. too nice to be indoors.

 

[brucemacdonald]

For me, its funny because I am interested in astronomy I spend a lot of time outdoors in the dark watching the stars.

So I associate Spring with the Winter constellations like Orion, Gemini and Taurus dropping low in the west, and the Spring constellations rising in the east like Virgo, Bootes and Leo; and the Plough flipped up on its handle. It's my way of counting the progress of the seasons.

Best wishes

Bruce

 

[greg2935]

Exactly, the appearence of Orion always heralds winter. The appearence of Leo summer, and with summer all the galaxies in Leo!

Greg

 

[R-Bowskill]

New growth everywhere, The vibrancy of greens at the start of the year, watching hares chase each other as the days lenghthen and warm up. The soil starting to feel warm when you touch it. Sunlight dappling green and gold through the new leaves in woodland. Having light as I go to and from work so the drivers can see me.

Also sitting in the sun drinking cider or wine with friends at a mayday celebration we have.