Has Spring, finally Sprung??

It was a delight to wake up to a shrill of bird song outside this morning. The birds were singing at the top of their voice, with the sun on their backs and the temperature up by a few degrees. It was the perfect start to a Saturday. Having had a much better nights sleep, I actually felt like a Spring chicken, even if I did not look like one. These days I think I would be more like an old boiler at the age of 47 ha ha ha. So there was I up and out early with P. He even had a spring in his step as he trotted down the towpath, sticking his nose into the bushes a long the way.
Overnight I had let the back stove go out, because out back cabin was like a furness last night. Maybe that was why both K and I slept better, because it was cooler in the cabin. It may just have been we were shattered, from little sleep the night before. With P walked I made K and I toast and a cuppa for breakfast. K got his breakfast in bed and I set about planning the morning's jobs. Having made up the saloon stove and washed up the breakfast things. I headed down into town to do some food shopping. We needed bread and milk. I also wanted to get some sausages from the indoor market. The butcher there does two packs of their own sausages for £5. I picked up a pack of Pork and Leek and a pack of Farmhouse sausages, which we will have in the week. There sausages are wonderful. When cooking they cook as if dry. There is no major fat content, it is all meat and proper ingredients. Supermarket sausages I find are full of fat and water. The town was very busy with shoppers, many of them probably in town for the French Food Market, which looked very busy. I trudged back up the hill to the boat, with the sun on my face, I was glad I took my sunglasses with me. The sun had some warmth in it, maybe this is the start of Spring after all. For the first time, I noticed Daffodils poking out of the ground, with any luck they will be showing off their sunshine yellow blooms very soon. Shopping put away and a coffee made, the next job on the agenda for the day was to deliver coal to friends on their boat NB Balmaha. So I unloaded 6 bags of Supertherm, and delivered them to Mo who was home alone. Nessa was shopping with her daughter for a dress to go to her daughters wedding. Having delivered their coal, it was nice to pass the time of day with Mo. You know how it is, you just have to try and put the world to right in one conversation. I love both Mo and Nessa, they are a wonderful couple and very good friends. They will be leaving again on Monday for a few weeks. But we will still be here when they come back. It has been a busy day for coal, kindling and toilet blue. Do these people know something I do not. Maybe Spring is not going to kick off after all lol. I have had a few customers today, all of which love to pass the time of day. Boaters are very good at chatting. It is a good way to find out what is going on. They call it the Towpath Telegraph.
At the moment, I have a load of washing on and I am contemplating what to do for tonights dinner. The life of a boatwoman is full of decisions. People know me as the boatwoman or the coalwoman. I suppose that some would say I am neither, because I was not born into either. I have come into them through the back door so to speak. But I love this life and I have thrown myself into it whole heartedly. So I feel like a tradtional boatwoman and a coalwoman. There are not many women on the canal who hump and sell coal. I think we are rare. But I am sure someone will tell me otherwise. I think of myself as a modern day boatwoman, who has all the trapping of the modern day, but likes to keep to tradtion as well.
As I type the sun is pouring through the side window. I reckon Spring is finally putting in an appearance.