Forsythia…

It was spring at last. Algy’s home in the wild West Highlands was still being blasted by an icy wind carrying battering showers of rain mixed with hail or sleet, but it was undoubtedly spring at last, and there were times between the showers when the sky turned blue and the bright new flowers revelled in the sunshine.

Algy loved the early spring because there were so many flowers which shared his own sunny colours. Waiting for an auspicious moment when the wind seemed to have dropped to a tolerable level for a wee while and the clouds had dispersed, temporarily at least, he settled himself into a sunny forsythia bush and thought of a poem he had once read… and of you, all his friends around the world…

You said, take a few dry
sticks, cut the ends slantwise
to let in water, stick them
in the old silver cup on the
dresser in the spare room and
wait for the touch of Easter.
But a cold wave protected the
snow, and the sap’s pulse beat
so low underground I felt no
answer in myself except silence.
You said, winter breaks out in
flowers for the faithful and
today when I opened the door
the dry sticks spoke in little
yellow stars and I thought
of you.

[Algy is quoting the poem Forsythia by the 20th century American poet and philosopher, James Hearst.]

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One Day to Go…

Algy was feeling very excited, because the next day was his birthday, and he was going to host a big Tumblr party for all his friends 🙂

In the meantime, Algy had to wait patiently for the big day to arrive… Luckily, it was a beautiful morning, and once the frost had melted it felt almost warm in the early spring sunshine. All the crocuses opened their faces with enormous smiles to greet the sun, and even the daffodils were beginning to think timidly about showing their petals. So Algy settled himself down among the flowers and opened his battered old copy of Longfellow’s poems. Turning to page 10, he read:

When the warm sun, that brings
Seed-time and harvest, has returned again,
’Tis sweet to visit the still wood, where springs
The first flower of the plain.

I love the season well,
When forest glades are teeming with bright forms,
Nor dark and many-folded clouds foretell
The coming-on of storms.

From the earth’s loosened mould
The sapling draws its sustenance, and thrives;
Though stricken to the heart with winter’s cold,
The drooping tree revives.

The softly-warbled song
Comes from the pleasant woods, and colored wings
Glance quick in the bright sun, that moves along
The forest openings.

Don’t miss Algy’s party on @lovefromalgy tomorrow!

[Algy is reading the opening stanzas of the poem An April Day by the 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.]

It’s Algy’s birthday! Happy Birthday Algy 🙂

On the morning of his birthday, Algy’s assistant brought him a basket of pretty spring flowers. As he sat on the damp grass looking at them, a bright green frog jumped out and landed on his leg. Algy was astonished! But his assistant explained that this very special visitor had been sent by a dear friend especially for his birthday, and that this beautiful frog would keep him company and bring him luck from now on 🙂

Algy has been overwhelmed by the kindness of all his wonderful friends and he thanks you all very much indeed for all your lovely tributes, posts and messages on the occasion of his birthday – and for all your support for his adventures over the past four years. It has been an amazing experience and Algy hopes that he will be able to continue to share his adventures with you for many more years to come. He sends you all lots of exceedingly fluffy hugs xoxoxo

p.s. Don’t miss Algy’s Birthday Party on @lovefromalgy today, with all the fantastic contributions from his Tumblr friends!

It was beginning to feel almost like spring at last, and as Algy explored his assistant’s garden he discovered a pretty patch of crocuses, which were gradually opening their flowers to bask in the long-awaited sunshine.

Algy dedicates this post to all his friends who are anxiously waiting for spring, and to his dear friend @vegandragons in the deep south of the world, who is not sure what crocuses look like xo

After a thoroughly dismal weekend, Monday morning dawned bright and cold. It was wonderful to see the sun, but the bitter north-west wind was less welcome, and it felt very chilly. Although it had rarely dropped much below freezing, it had been persistently cold for many, many weeks. The spring flowers were late this year, but Algy could see that the snowdrops in his assistants’ garden had opened at last, and their heads were nodding prettily in the wind. So he crawled in among them, on the damp mossy ground under the dry, coppery leaves of the beech hedge, and stretched himself out happily in the sunshine, hoping that it would last for a wee while…

On Saturday morning, Algy paid a visit to his assistants’ house. He was surprised to see that a large pot in a dark corner of the garden had undergone a sudden transformation… Algy was thrilled to see the little flowers glowing in the February sunshine, and as he gazed at them in wonder, a tiny wren started to sing in the bushes behind him. The ground was hard with frost and there was ice on the puddles, but Algy knew it was the beginning of spring 🙂

Algy wishes you all a very happy weekend, and – if you live in a cold, northern country – he hopes that spring will reach you very soon xo