Reasons to be hopeful...

...spring might be on its way after all.

Despite the grey skies, and the distinct chill in the air, there are green tips appearing and hope for more to come.

My neighbours almost certainly think I'm mad taking close-up photos of buds... Unless, of course, they're blippers too. I guess you never know!

If I were more skilled in such things I would have manipulated this photo to make the background all black and white, with only the foregrounded twig and buds in colour. Sadly, I don't have a clue how to go about such a thing, so am leaving this as is, just a little bit cropped from the original.