HARD to believe, but spring is in the air. Sure, it actually snowed in central Canberra last week and people posted pictures of snow monkeys on Mount Ainslie, but the season really is changing.

Wattle has been blooming for some weeks now, even if it’s still covered in frost most mornings. I’ve even seen a few courageously cheerful daffodils and jonquils bobbing up their heads as they get blasted by Antarctic winds. There are a lot more birds tweeting in our garden, especially gorgeous superb fairywrens; tiny, beautiful, hyperactive blue wrens that inhabit our hedges and seem to be very active early this season. Most importantly, it’s just that bit brighter each morning.

In any case, I’m really looking forward to spring. The fact that we’re about to move house would normally fill me with dread, but in the circumstances I’ve decided to look at it as the mother of all spring cleans – an opportunity to clear out all sorts of junk and debris and start afresh. So as the days get just a bit longer and, hopefully, a bit warmer, I’m going to be packing and unpacking moving boxes and building a new nest for our family.

If there is a season to move house, spring probably is the best time. At the end of a busy day moving, one can hopefully sit outside for a moment and enjoy a glass of wine, ideally with a view of the Brindabellas in the distance.

If nothing else, the flowers will be blooming and the birds chirping, busy making their own nests. I’m not sure whether we’ll have as many fairywrens in our new Canberra garden, but I’m hopeful. They are the most cheery, beautiful things; perhaps the best, certainly the cutest, harbingers of spring in Canberra.