Weather and White Clouds

I have decided that I need to improve my attitude towards the current weather conditions.   No, I have not resorted to taking Vitamin D tablets nor have I bought a lamp to avoid SAD depression.   Rather I have resolved to appreciate the numerous days when we experience white cloud, rather than worry about focusing on the lack of sunshine.

I have come to the conclusion that we are not going to get a lot of sunshine.   So I look for white clouds when accessing the BBC weather forecast on my BlackBerry.   And yes, there are more white cloud days showing up, than grey clouds days.    Some showers still show up, but then the plants may appreciate a bit of rain.  I feel generous.

A change of attitude makes all the difference.   I no longer have gloomy thoughts, even the current situation with the Euro has not dampened my spirits.

So I took another photo of the front garden and road, in the one little patch of sunshine that occurred yesterday.  Note the white clouds in the back background.   And the shadow of the house in the foreground, which proves the sun was shining.   Just a little bit, I know.  But better than no sun.

 I must admit the clouds at 1 pm today did border on the side of grey, but with a positive attitude one can imagine they are more white than grey.  The photo below shows the view of Northumbeland Heath, with white/grey clouds overhead, as I left the hairdresser. 

I have gone back to my old hairdresser, after a gap of seven months, four of those in Australia and NZ, where I visited two wonderful hairdressers.   I thought, unwisely, that I should support my local hairdresser, who did a very poor job last month.    Not only did I receive a very professional hairdressing service at the salon in Northumberland Heath, but I also enjoyed the two hours there.   It was such a busy place, full of people, mostly pensioners like me as it was morning.  Lots of repartee between staff and customers, and I listened to discussions about the Queen, Prince Charles, the Olympics, local gossip, family matters and tattoos.   My general knowledge has improved considerably.  And I love the local accents, a mix of the soft Kentish accent and the stronger London accent.   Good therapy.

 So off came all the straggly hair, and now I have a super smooth smart look.   This helps to promote a positive mood.   Who needs sunshine!

When driving home I noticed that the red poppies were out in bloom.   Sorry, no photo, as it was impossible to stop the car on the busy road.   Well I could have, I suppose, and alerted the other drivers to the wonders growing on the side of the road.   But perhaps I may have received abuse rather than appreciation. Better not to spoil the day, just for a photo.

But I did stop on a quiet road to take a photo of the hawthorn tree in flower.   The flowering hawthorn abound in the hedgerows at the moment.   They are beautiful although a disaster for allergy sufferers.

And the trees in the woods at the end of the road, just a few metres from the house, are in full leaf now.   So beautiful, and a walk was a must today, even though the paths were still muddy after all the rain.

 And the cow parsley, also out in flower.   I love cow parsley, so English.  I know that it grows in Holland and Germany too, but I associate it with England. Horses love cow parsley too (I am not sure about cows). I found it very difficult to keep my horse away from the cow parsley.   I was forever getting told off about it.

At this time of year I remember my first summer in England, twenty years ago.   Out on a horse, riding in the woods in the evenings, with the damp smells of the woods around me, and listening to the birds, and hoping that I would not fall off the horse into the stinging nettles.   I had also discovered stinging nettles, by accident.  I touched them.   No one warned me.  Ouch!  

And today when I looked under the plastic tunnel I found that the beans had started to sprout.   The white clouds and warmer temperatures of the past few days have made all the difference.  

White clouds are great!  And the temperature is rising too, a little bit.  Hopefully.