February 24

The first spring day of the year, Saturday, February 24, 2024.

Sunshine and blue skies, birds chirping and flying around among the sunflower seeds and bird peanut butter. Long yellow catkins hang from the hazel trees. Under a bare bush, I see the first snowdrops and even a few crocuses in bud.

Finally, relaxation after those long winter months of snow and ice, with occasional thaws. Outside feels like a friend again, rather than an enemy to be defeated.

The forest paths are wet, with miniature streams here and there, crossing the path, so much snow has melted and the water in the lakes is high.

In winter, the forests here are white or green. White when the ground is covered with a fluffy blanket of snow and all the branches of the trees are meticulously painted white by little gnomes with a brush. Green when it thaws, by the spruces and firs, by all the evergreen blueberry bushes, and by the endless mosses that cover the earth and stones in the most beautiful shapes. A Japanese garden architect would not be able to improve it.

There are no smells outside yet, except for the scent of sunscreen on my nose, already reminding me of summer. With five minutes more of daylight each day, it’s getting lighter. But of course, it’s still far from spring in Sweden on February 24, not even here in southern Sweden. The whole month of March is still considered a winter month. Until early April, it can freeze during the day, and the land can be covered with snow and the lakes with ice. Spring officially starts here on the first of May, when the birches finally get leaves like mouse ears.

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