Sparkles

Last summer was an unusually long, warm period. From mid May till early August hardly any rain fell at all. The groundwater levels sank far below normal and we had a serious water crisis on Öland, no one was allowed to water plants with a hose, you could only water using pitchers, no pools could be filled and we were not allowed to use the grill outdoor because of the risk of fires. Some areas was hit by serious forest fires, crops was very poor and many plants died completely. I only cut the grass twice the whole growth period, once in May and once in September. 

Ecologists say this spring will be a bit extraordinary because of last year. Some early plants show up in vast numbers while others are nearly gone. Many plants, bushes and trees have died and nature will in a way renew itself. We will see more of the hardy plants this spring.

That is certainly the case in my lawn. I've never seen these little flowers in such vast numbers before. Suddenly one morning i noticed a strong shimmer, or a sparkle, as if the sun shines on dew in the grass early in the morning. When I looked closer I saw the sparkles was tiny flowers. Their latin name is Erophila Verna and the Swedish name is "Nagelört", Nailherb, because when it has flowered for a period, the flowers grow into a shape  looking a bit like nails. I think they are so beautiful, both when you see them from a distance, and when you get really, really close.

Today I invited a few of my neighbours for coffee and waffles on my veranda in the sun. The weather has been fantastic a couple of days with sun, no wind and 20 degrees warm. The birds sings like mad in this early spring, even the flies has woken up, buzzing around a little dazed after winter.

We're rehearsing some music tomorrow morning so I've been practicing a little too, nice to have a purpose. No concerts in sight yet but we hope for some work in the summer.

Yoga continues. I'm still following Adrienes yoga courses on youtube, usually I follow another 30 day course called True but today I found a very moving practice designed for dealing with grief. She is very good at what she's doing and I warmly recommend her series or her standalone episodes for all kind of needs.