Easing the spring

The first warm day of Spring made clearing up in the garden less of a chore. When sunshine seems like a treat after the cold and dark of winter, the enjoyment is heightened. Living in constant sunshine might have its advantages but, like a diet of ice cream it would dull the senses. You can only know comfort if you've been uncomfortable, food always tastes better if you're hungry. The sunshine is appreciated by every denizen of the garden. The wood mouse that lives in the hedge and was last seem gathering seeds fallen from the bird table in Autumn, has reappeared and is back scavenging in the same spot no doubt hungrier and leaner after his winter sleep.

The most pleasing sound was the hum of honey bees foraging among the snowdrops. The solitary bees don't produce the same intensity of sound as their social cousins. It is the perfect sound to welcome the sun.

They winged back and forward from flower to flower seemingly at random with their orange saddle bags of pollen.

The thrushes are back singing their double song and trying to compete with the bullying of the blackbirds. Where do they go in the winter? The blackies hang around eating the windfall apples and getting hand outs of meal-worms but the thrushes disappear or so it seems. They are shy at the best of times so it is just the absence of their song that catches the attention. 

Where's my meal-worms?

The sound of the bees stirred a memory of a line from a poem read at school and probably not appreciated at the time - "easing the spring" from Henry Reed's "The naming of parts ".

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring. 

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Funny how a single sound or scent or tune can bring to mind something that seemed long forgotten.

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 http://www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/naming-of-parts/