As my alarm goes off at 6am and I stumble through piles of unmarked exercise books and books I should be reading for the essays I should be writing, I am heartened to see that the sun is starting to rise. And as I make my journey home from school, eyes held open by match sticks, lesson plans swirling through my head I am relieved to know that there is still time to walk the dog and see the chickens before it's too dark. Spring is nearly here.
As I get used to this timetable of teaching and learning and planning and evaluating, I am determined to keep up the hard work of last year in terms of my growing. My visits to the allotment have been few and far between this winter but to keep up my spirits and remind me why it's worth it I planted some Sweet Pea seeds in February. They are now lovely strong little plants which need a sunny day to be potted on and even more sunny days to have beds prepared for them. But we will get there.
Is there anything more restorative after a miserable, dark winter than to see your favourite plant emerging and realising that soon, there will be flowers again. Flowers and fresh food. Roll on spring!
