On the cusp

Posted bymaryjane678Posted inUncategorized

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on Feb 27th 2025.

February is drawing to a close. We’re on the cusp of change, one season nearly over, another almost beginning. How the weather loves to toy with us at this time of year: a few days of sunny weather to get our hopes up, followed by a sudden plunge back into wet or cold weather. My moods are my personal barometer, fluctuating with the colour of the sky, gloomy and lacklustre on a grey day or bright and cheerful when the sky is blue.

I took the pictures below during a sunny interlude, searching for anything that was in flower around the cabin: Lenten roses and daffodils, wildflowers and weeds, a lone periwinkle and the blossom from our early-flowering plum tree. The weather may be fickle but these beautiful blooms seem true and constant friends, a reminder that spring is definitely on the way regardless of the games that the weather likes to play.

Lenten rose – wonderfully exotic
Pretty little tête-à-tête narcissi
Dandelion
Pure sunshine
I don’t know the name of this wildflower. It’s so small you can easily overlook it but it’s exquisite and I love the raindrop sitting on the petal.
Self-set periwinkle
Our plum tree, always the first to flower.

We’ve been back in Le Shack for around ten days but we are off again tomorrow. Not a house-sit this time. No pets or responsibilities, just us and our bikes cycling along a stretch of the Atlantic coast. We have an early start, cycling 30 km to Tarbes, taking the train to Hendaye, close to the Spanish border, which is our start point for the cycle route. We’ve allowed ourselves a week to do 300 plus km at a leisurely pace, hugging the coast northwards and finishing in the Bay of Arcachon.

A handy little book to help us on our way

The forecast promises a week of sunshine. However yesterday it was meant to be dry and rained, today it was meant to be cloudy and we have a blue sky! I don’t know why we bother looking at it anymore but we can’t seem to help ourselves. I guess it will be whatever it will be and I look forward to sharing our journey, wet or dry, with you in the next blog.

See you soon.

MJ

19 thoughts on “On the cusp”

  2. Hello, brave cyclists,

    The tiny flower is one of the 500 species of Veronica. I too love them with their pretty little faces! Enjoy your trip! Cheers Ch

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  4. hey up, don’t forget it’s never bad weather…just the wrong clothes!

    Greetings from Cwmdu enjoy the ride 😀 😎 xx

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  5. Lovely photos. February is indeed fickle. However, this one has been better than many we have had. It’s lovely to see the plants spring back to life. I have seen several clumps of vibrant violets, and our daffodils are out now. Enjoy your cycling adventure. I look forward to reading about it.

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  10. We have driven along the whole of this coast. I think from bicycles you will see a lot more than we did. We enjoyed it, but it should be really special for you! Photographs from the top of the highest sand dune in Europe please.

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