Lots, but not much

We planned a quiet weekend. They don't happen very often. I've started with a sore throat and cough - again - and Joe's the same. I've never known anything like it. You shake one thing off and another arrives immediately to take over.

But spring is upon us and we've had some glorious sunshine. Which meant walks in the locality (no travelling allowed during a quiet weekend) and a bit of pottering outdoors.

Ambles through the village: friendly sheep who are used to passers-by. And chickens who reside behind the pub.

The whole 'slow' movement appeals to me: slow food, slow lifestyle. Things are quite literally slow for us at the moment, as Joe prefers to walk than ride in his buggy. He has no reason to hurry up and enjoys stopping and noticing anything and everything. There's a lesson to be learned in there somewhere...

I do love the way a sunny day can change your whole perspective on things. Quite the contrast from Friday's eclipse when we were plunged into eerie darkness in the middle of the morning.

We've fed the ducks, visited the chickens, chatted with cyclists and watched the steam trains. We met a greedy Shetland pony and saw an amazing sight: three kingfishers darting along the river in a line. Far more exotic than the resident mallards (but virtually impossible to photograph).

Joe's little legs have seen plenty of action over the past couple of days. I hope the fresh air helps him feel a bit better.

Blossom's appearing on bare branches. And there are signs of things to come: bluebells are putting up their leaves. Wild garlic is carpeting the woods already.

At home there was an important first for 2015: line-dried bedding. Tonight there will be hot baths and the pleasure of sleeping in sheets which smell of outdoors.

There's something about the arrival of spring which makes you want to get outside and tidy the garden and plant things. Last week I swept so vigorously I gave myself a blister on my hand. Proof of a job well done. This afternoon I lifted some snowdrops while they were still 'in the green'.

Our Alpine strawberries have gone mad so I divided some of those into little pots (and intend to give them away). Some of the herbs we assumed had perished over the winter are putting out little shoots too. Even a dead-looking geranium, shoved under a wooden crate and forgotten about, has two bright green leaves emerging.

So, a weekend with no plans has been spent doing lots of things. But little things. None of them urgent or stressful. We haven't felt obliged to visit people or to have anyone over. Instead it's been just us three. Pottering, wandering, planting, eating, reading.

A weekend well spent. I hope yours was the kind of weekend you enjoy.