Spring has sprung.

It's been quite a week so far.   It was my birthday a few days ago and my husband gave me this very smart and comfortable if rather scary chair - it reminds me of the Mastermind one.  My old one had become very wobbly and I was convinced that if I kept using it the seat part would snap off and I would end up impaled one day!   We took a trip to Ikea to buy it and in true Ikea fashion it had a name - Malkolm.  It was love at first sight and I soon found that Malkolm was the most comfortable of all those on display.    My husband, who shuns modern trends,  found the experience quite traumatic and vows never to go there again!   The trauma was not quite over, as he had to assemble the chair when we got it home, but all's well that end's well and here I sit in splendour.

Other gifts included this beautiful machine embroidered blackbird..........

................. some lovely balloons ....................

and this beautiful box.

I had various other gifts including scented candles, art supplies, and chocolates from two of my grandsons.   My children called my grandmother White Granny, my own mother was Sweetie Granny and my husband's mother was Granny Dolly.  I think I'll probably end up being known as Fat Granny!

Even in the garden there were treats waiting for me.    Frogspawn at last - I had begun to give up hope of having any this year.  I hope the newts don't eat it all.

The kingcup is blooming with at least two more buds to look forward to.  I divided it a couple of years ago and it has taken a while to recover.

And the pulmonaria is out - always a welcome sight.

I have also seen buttercups, daisies galore, dandelions and even forget-me-nots in bloom.  It seems a bit early for them and I always think of them as April or May flowers.  Everything is bursting forth.

We have had some lovely days and I've even had lunch in the garden two or three times though I did need a jumper and jacket to ward off the chilly breeze.   There have been loads of butterflies - Clouded Yellows and Small Coppers I think and even a couple of Peacock butterflies - ladybirds, and plenty of bumble bees so I think it's official and whatever the weather does now, Spring has really arrived.

I think that my second cold virus, which came hard on the heels of the previous one, is on the way out and the awful lethargy which came with it is beginning to lift at last.   Hopefully I'll get the greenhouse up and running this weekend and do a bit of tidying among the herb pots on the patio.