A spring in my step

I suffer from the winter blues from time to time, but yesterday I heard a sound that showed that spring is not far away.

I love seeing our winter wildlife - particularly those birds that come here as refugees from the northern winter - and am a big fan of frosty mornings, but winter just doesn’t seem to be winter anymore. Gloomy skies, strong winds and wet weather seem to be the norm and crisp, cold days with snow and frost a rarity.

I heard my promise of spring while I was walking through my village to the bus stop to catch the bus to work. It certainly lifted my spirits and put a spring in my step for the rest of the day.

I wasn’t sure at first if my ears were deceiving me and it wasn’t the finest performance I’ve ever heard by any means, but there was no mistaking the unmistakable piping notes of a song thrush warming up its vocal chords.

I stopped to listen for a while, enjoying an ever increasing variety in the song as it tried out different phrases, finished 'tuning up' and picked up the tempo.

Before I knew it, several minutes had passed and I had to run to make sure I didn’t miss the bus!