Jeziorki spring pictorial

The snows of the last, brief and mild winter are a memory; having to take heavy overcoats off when entering a cafe a thing of the past. Moving towards mid-May, and that annual explosion of nature is now behind us. The flowering and going to seed of the dandelion happened some two weeks earlier this year compared to 2013, the short winter accelerating the re-birth.

Jeziorki's make-over is a success. You can now walk from ul. Kórnicka past the ponds all the way roudn via ul. Dumki to ul. Trombity without having to change from loafers to wellies. Many local folk are now making the most of the new amenities to go for a stroll, try some fishing, spot birds, cycle off-road or just enjoy the unique klimat of this wonderful rus-in-urbe.

Below: angler's haven: if fishing's your thing, Jeziorki now beckons those with rod and reel to cast a fly after work. Since the retention ponds have been completed, the number of anglers fishing here has risen from zero to a handful. Has someone bothered to stock the ponds with fish?

At this time of year, you can really appreciate living in Jeziorki. Returning from work, I get off a station earlier, at W-wa Dawidy, to enjoy a long walk home. While it's some 50 minutes from the city centre to my house, the daily commute time (spent perusing the news media online) is balanced by quality of life. Akin to John Betjeman's Metro-Land, Jeziorki allows the city clerk to turn countryman again.

Magic hour on ul. Dumki; the storm has passed; the air is clear, the low sun illuminates the trees by the ponds; the sun will set soon.

Fields and orchards; placid, fertile landscapes. Arable fields, meadows and orchards. And here we are, less than nine miles from the very centre of Warsaw. And yet this could be ninety years ago.

Ah now! This is like a Dutch Master's oil painting - look at the shore on the right hand side. All that's needed are some Roman ruins in the foreground and some shepherds doing dramatic gestures.

This is the time of year I wish could last for ever; an eternal spring, timeless, majestic and splendid. But all things must pass. Soon high summer; then humid August; glorious, golden early-autumn - and then the days come crashing in - predominant light and warmth give way to gloom and cold, which in turn make us more appreciative of days like this. Enjoy them while they're here.

This time last year:
Kitten time! (Czester is one today)

This time two years ago:
Warsaw - Centrum to Jeziorki by train with super-wide lens

This time three years ago:
Loose Lips Sink Ships - part II

This time four years ago:
Jeziorki in the infra red

This time five years ago:
Some rain, at last!