The first day of February has blown in blustery and clear, hints of blue in the swirling grey clouds. Temperatures here have been unseasonably warm for some time, daffodils and snowdrops appearing much earlier than usual, yet today feels more like Spring than any other so far this year.

Our neighbour’s tree, still holding a tattered birds nest from last year, is now covered with blossom. A dusting of white like snow from a distance, yet up close all delicate petals and yellow stamens, portents of fruit to come.

And I started the day, as I usually do, by saying ‘White Rabbits.’ My mother told me years ago that, if it’s the first thing you say on the first of the month, it’s considered good luck. There are varying sources for this tradition, which seems to be of British origin – apparently saying ‘Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit,’ is also appropriate.

Ali Isaac has written a lovely post about today being Imbolc, the first day of Celtic Spring. As for me, I’m also writing. A Thousand Rooms has now gone to several beta readers, a couple of new ideas are taking shape, plus I’ve the fourth Ambeth book to start editing. A busy year beckons and, now that the January blues are past, it’s time to move forward.

January was also my biggest month ever on this blog, which is really nice! If you’ve followed along this month, welcome, and thanks so much for joining me 🙂