Flora and Flowers

As you can tell, the ground is frozen at the moment, a gritter came by just now but on the plus side the sun is high in the sky. I greatly prefer the cold to the wet and grey. Flora too enjoys being out and about and is getting to know all the nooks and crannies of our garden. So far, the fencing seems to be adequate to contain her but we are keeping a close eye on it.

Looking back over the 3 months or so she has been with us the difference is astonishing. Her eyes are so much brighter, the coat so much softer and that tail is no longer between her legs. She is beginning to know she is much loved and is giving all her love back. The two of us bonded as soon as we met, but she is now very keen on John too and goes and greets him when he arrives back. She remains wary of other people (specially men) and also of large boisterous dogs. She barks ferociously in her own defence! There is still a long way to go and some remains of her traumatic early years will probably stay with her through her life but the transformation so far is nothing short of miraculous.

I could have been cheeky and entered Flora's picture for today's Flower Friday challenge on the Blipfoto site (her name after all stands for flower) but instead I will enter a picture of this gorgeous amarillis that has come into flower. Mine never seem to make it in time for Christmas but instead they brighten up the dark days of January and February. This one is the first one to make an appearance and it's one that I kept over from last year. There are another 3 to come out.