Getting into the spring of things

An Edinburgh spring is a very odd thing indeed. It can start as early as late February, when a warm spell fools some bulbs into surfacing, and some trees to blossom. These naïve plants are soon shown the error of their ways, and half-freeze to death under conditions of biting cold winds and lashing rain. I can't remember where I read that "climate is what you expect, weather is what you get". Certainly, one should not expect anything from Edinburgh's climate, 'cos what you'll get is a b*tch of a weather (apologies to John Humphreys and other pedants). One of the few things that happens with clockwork regularity is the appearance of baby animals. We caught sight of our first ducklings of the year, and were privileged to observe a swan sitting on her nest (or flotsam by our standards).