After a reasonably mild and suitably snowy winter, the signs of springtime and rebirth are being seen across my usually haunts. I have already seen the migratory birds, mainly whooping swans and even the first cranes flying north. The trees are all in bud and the crocuses are peeking through. I am most certainly noticing the few extra minutes of daylight were getting and so are the animals. Even my dress has begun to reflect a return to warmer climes. More often than not now I am hatless – something unthinkable just a few weeks ago – and now it’s just a fleece rather than a down jacket.

The earth performing its annual heavenly dance is passing through the celestial equator meaning we are at the vernal equinox which marks the beginning of spring. The days that have been getting longer since midwinter have reached equinox – literally equal night – and there are equal hours of daylight and darkness.

In ancient times our ancestors celebrated these things. Being more closely linked with the earth and the changing seasons they took note of the earth’s natural cycles of daylight and darkness and made their offerings to receive blessings on the coming year. Eostre was a goddess of fertility and signified rebirth, balance, new beginnings and growth. She was often pictured holding and egg in one hand while rabbits played at her feet. According to legend a rabbit laid golden decorated eggs at her feet to please her – is anything sounding familiar here? Even her name was highjacked Eostre/Easter.

For the Greeks spring is associated with the story of Demeter and Persephone. Legend had it that the earth was in perpetual springtime before Hades – god of the underworld kidnapped Persephone, daughter of Demeter – goddess of the harvest. Demeter suffered greatly when her daughter disappeared and roamed the world seeking for her. She grew so angry that she blamed the land for Persephone’s disappearance and everything stopped growing.

Eventually, Demeter discovered Persephone's whereabouts and arranged for her release. However, Persephone's release was conditional: she could only be released if she had not eaten anything while she was in the underworld. Unfortunately, Persephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds, thereby ensuring her return to Hades for part of the year. When Persephone is reunited with her Demeter, the Earth flowers and blooms as a sign of Demeter's happiness. However, when Persephone returns to the underworld, Demeter retreats into her lonely shell, and Earth is dormant and cold.

The signs of Persephone’s return are everywhere as the world begins to turn green. Even the animals have noticed it. Here at Alledal we’ve added a couple more Gulanka – Swedish Yellow Ducks – which have started laying for us. I’m already saving the eggs ready to try a test hatch, maybe as early as next week. We’ve been pouring through our favourite websites looking for seeds in readiness. The ‘to do list’ is growing daily. The spring weather is also making long walks with Troy much more appealing and enjoyable. We’ve been visiting Billingmölla nature reserve. It’s only twenty minutes walk from Alledal and really beautiful, even at this time of year. This morning we saw roe deer disappearing ghost like into the forest, grey wagtails darting over the river and listened to the drumming of – I think – a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. The Tufted Ducks took flight as soon as Troy and I came into view. It’s fast becoming one of my favourite places, all the more so as Troy and I seem to be the only people that go there. I have yet to meet anyone walking around what remains of the old mill. There had been a mill on the site since 1848 with the last one being demolished in the 1950s. Today only the foundations remain to hint that anything ever existed there.

The bees too have woken from their winter slumber; I saw the first ones out flying last week. Yesterday I had a quick peek inside it’s still a little cold for a full inspection but everything appears well. It seems that one hive at least has made it through the winter. I added a feed of sugar syrup yesterday just to give them a bit of a boost and to help with the spring build up. Apart from the goat willow and hazel there’s very little forage for them right now and I’ll be wanting a strong hive I can divide by artificial swarm later in the season. It seemed strange to be in my smock and veil after such a long break, but I still love the smell of the smoker when fuelled with tobacco stalks. It produces a lovely cool blue smoke which doesn’t seem to disturb the bees too much and smells wonderful.