Serious on the 1st of April

With just a few posts in March I‘m bravely taking care of this situation right at the beginning of April – I plan to have lots of good things to share. Well, there‘ll certainly be many posts on gardening and trees that turn white, sunny days on the beach and Easter. Meanwhile, even though I‘m posting on the 1st of April, I‘m going to be serious and comment on the photos that I took last Saturday.

The white stuff on the ground is snow and we didn‘t expect to see it, but as we travelled further in land, away from the Baltic Sea, I suppose it made sense for the climate to be just a bit colder. The aim of our journey was to have a look at some old manor houses, parks and pretty churches. We didn't go far and ended up in Šateikiai - a little village, now just a shadow of its previous glory.

At the end of the 18th century a noble family (Pliateriai) built a huge manor house and lots of barns, stables, a beer brewery, a water-mill, a gardener's house and other buildings, also established a beautiful park with many rare trees and a few ponds and funded the building of the church. At the time this little village must have been a cultural centre - the manor house had a concert hall and a painting gallery. Now it's hard to believe that the most famous Lithuanian painter and composer M.K.Čiurlionis chose to get married in Šateikiai.

The neglected park hides the ghostly buildings and it seemed a bit spooky with no people to be seen around...

The wooden manor house (we haven't got many of these left in Lithuania) has last been renovated in the end of the 70s! It could be turned into a nice museum or a concert hall, or a painting gallery, well, anything that would attract people who are fond of history and culture.

I'm not sure if the locals would cheer for that idea - they might be too used to their quite life and might be too busy with their agricultural duties, but I believe that our heritage has to be looked after, especially as we haven't got that many authentic manor houses.

At least the church, that looks too big for this village, doesn't seem to be falling down... I'm sure it's full every Sunday.

My poor shabby country with insufficient funds and stupid laws. I could find a lot of things to moan about... Yet it's still number 1, ask any Lithuanian!

A Change in Scenery

I haven’t posted for such a long time that I’ve been feeling guilty for not updating the photos – the snow and ice are gone and spring is finally here! (Although I think I should mention that we were back in winter wonderland this morning. It lasted just a few hours as the sun did its job, eventually…).

Fur coats can be hung in the wardrobes and hats and scarves can stay – the wind is still a bit chilly these days. But even though the dull and lifeless garden hasn't started waking up, it's time to sow seeds - tomatoes, paprikas, basil, stevia and loads of flowers. I'm afraid every year aesthetics wins over the practical and edible.

Sowing is one thing - just lay them out pretty and wait for the result, but when the seedlings start coming up I'm facing a bigger problem - they need to be put into separate pots. If you saw how many of my precious flowers have already appeared, you'd know why I am panicking... but this massive plant migration will certainly need a separate post!

Well, it seems that lots is happening at the moment: everything's going well at work (fingers crossed it stays that way or it can get even better, I won't mind), there have been many positive changes that are leading us closer and closer towards our dreams coming true, so it's not only my green fingers that have been busy - my mind has been engaged all this time too. That's why in my opinion I deserve a holiday or at least a few days of cat life...

When you think about it it's - have something nice to eat and then take a nap... another nap and some more tasty food... Although to tell the truth spring has changed their routines as well. They seem more eager to go outside and if you listened to some of the determined meows, you'd think they're stressed even more than we are!

Ah, everything's ok, so no more complaining. Just hope that spring can cheer us all up and remember - the more you sow, the prettier your garden (even if you are a vegetable and not a flower person).

Spring?

The first five days of March have been very winter like – no temperatures above zero, no sign of little white snow-drops and of course no wonder Shrove Tuesday is so late this year (on the 8th).

Will the old traditions help us to get rid of this forever lasting cold? Well, I’ll certainly be asking for this while eating round pancakes – the symbol for the coming sun, safety, stability and wholeness. Maybe if we all shout "winter, winter run away from our yards" it WILL get the hint?

Even though the view by the sea hasn’t changed much – the waves can’t reach the shore because of the ice, we must be in the transition period. The sun is coming out more often and the birds are singing louder (this morning I was amazed listening to a great tit - I could have sworn it had a loudspeaker!).

I'm really happy this is happening. I'm looking forward to spending more time outside. Meanwhile my window has been transformed into a small spring oasis - everytime I look at the daffodils, I'm certain - if it isn't here yet, it will come!

Soon? I hope.