Let's talk about Spring baby !!

Hallelujah ...Swedish Spring is finally here !!

It has been threatening to arrive for weeks and in a sense it has been here but heavily disguised as winter !!

In fairness there is a fifth season in the north of Sweden called Vårvinter, Springwinter to you and I.

It is the crossover season ( and many peoples favourite) where we still have lots of snow but we also have glorious sunshine and blue skies and you can at long last feel the heat from the sun upon your face rather than it being just a dazzling light !!

The best feeling is the first time you stop in your tracks, close your eyes and turn your face skywards to feel the glorious warmth kiss your skin after a long, cold winter. It literally flicks a switch and the body becomes energized once more.

It's in this fifth season that you find Swedes everywhere, sitting on the steps of their work building, eyes closed, face upward, sitting on a bench, eyes closed, face upward or laid out on a sunlounger, tucked in a breeze free corner, eyes closed, face upwards !

It really is a joyous occasion ! You will also see people out in the fields, happily whizzing along on cross country ski's or out for sunny days on the snowmobile. As is custom in our village, a trip to solbacke (sun hill) is in everyone's weekend plan (except ours it would seem this year, we never made it up there) to relax, grill food, talk, laugh and most importantly, soak up the rays and all that wonderful vitamin D !

But real Spring, the one without the snow is just about here. Our garden still has some snow but it is shrinking everyday and we can step out now without a coat !

Some of the trees are starting to bud, little purple crocuses are popping up and it is now that we also see the daffodils sprouting through !! It is a season that really excites me. It holds so much promise and so many new starts !!

Spring here is extremely short and extremely intense... Spring on steroids !!! It only lasts a few short weeks and it packs a punch !! Suddenly we have 17 hours of sunlight a day which increases by just under 7 minutes a day ! The pollen is immense and last year I could wipe a cloth on my kitchen worktop and it would be covered in bright yellow birch tree pollen, a joy for the hay fever sufferers among us !!

Birds flock here on their flight path to warmer climes and we get to see so much beautiful wild life from the cranes, swans, geese and so many other wonderful birds to the woodland animals that start to emerge from the forest. It's not unusual to see foxes playing in the fields and deer gathering around new blooming trees and bushes as well as moose of course.

I have been lucky enough (not yet this year) to have seen a bear too .. how cool is that? I should add that it was from a distance and Isabelle and I were in the car on an early morning school run. As we were tootling along the bear came out of the trees and crossed the road up ahead of us. I put on the brakes, the bear stopped, looked at us, then carried on his/her way ... I will never forget it !!

Spring also marks the opening of many loppis... in the towns and in the countryside. A loppis is kind of like a flea market or garage sale ( or should I say barn sale which is usually the case). As you drive through the countryside it is not unusual to see hand made signs pop up advertising that there will be a loppis and you simply pootle down the drive to discover treasures awaiting new homes. Anything from garden tools to crockery, furniture to antiques could be waiting for you !! It is quite wonderful to drive from one place to another seeing what you can find in the beautiful and picturesque Swedish countryside.

Yep, at last the time is upon us to enjoy walks by the river through town, to head out into the fields and stroll through wild flowers and to enjoy the warmth in the air and the lighter

nights... with the promise of a glorious summer just around the corner !