Oh, to be in Catalonia, now that April's here

I cannot think of April without the poet Robert Browning's 'Home-Thoughts from Abroad' coming to mind:

'Oh, to be in England,

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brush-wood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England – now!'

I love the poetry, but happily feel no nostalgia since where I live, in rural Catalunya, April is equally beautiful and sends the same message to rejoice in new life, renewal, and this will be repeated, in suburban and city gardens and municipal parks. Sometimes, on roundabouts, the masses of flowers dazzle with their splendour. On our way to Barcelona, there are almond trees in flower, apple trees around here in the mountains and then the lovely mimosa bushes on the Costa Brava!

Dear reader, do we rejoice enough 'now that's April's here'? For fun, I wrote down a few of my reasons to rejoice. Here they are:

I'm alive.

My family, friends and neighbours, sometimes struggling, but all reasonably well.

Horses racing round the field.

Lambs jumping for joy – they make me laugh!

The hibiscus bushes at the end of the short drive are sprouting green leaves.

The young oak tree has tiny sticky-buds . So . . . I challenge you readers to do the same! Stand up and say aloud your reasons to rejoice. I guarantee your heart will be leaping like the Spring lambs!