DRY UP NORTH - AND GOING ON AND ON AND. . .

So it is but fortunately the northerly turned south and west bringing warmer weather (and then east with a chill in the air). Unfortunately the dry weather has caused the rhubarb to collapse - it always needs a lot of water so that is what it has got.

I dug up and potted one of our bay trees for M who has been staying. She is taking some rhubarb too. 

It is almost time for asparagus steamed and with melted butter - Yum!

Walked out the kitchen door and nearly trod on the cock pheasant strutting his stuff.

The video camera seems to have captured a lot of nothing recently except yours truly mowing - until last night when we caught sight of our badger again.

The battle with sycamore seedlings goes on - their are thousands of them and it is driving me nuts - I weed an area and return two days later to find the place sprouting again.

Sitting outside with a post lunch cup of tea I watched a tiny Zebra spider on the paving. It has the strange habit of crawling for a while then jumping a few inches.

Red ants were out foraging as well.

So to weed, weed, weed - creeping buttercup - aaah!, pity one cannot dry it and smoke it.

Sycamore seedlings above, water crowfoot taking over the pond on the left - and as if that is not enough the good old spirogyra is back clogging the water with its green mats. 

I tried to pull it out with a rake extended by tape to a broom handle but the handle snapped.

Two days on and we ate our first asparagus with a little melted butter - heaven! 

I enlarged the top pond and took some of the excavated rich soil down to the compost heap. 

Here is a surprise find in the half disused cold frame under glass, dry and warm in the sun. Last year the blackbird was in the woodshed. 




Both the crab apple and apple are in flower.

Let me move on to something prettier - the red amaryllis are out again and glorious - 4th year in a row with the two bulbs we have. 

  
And, for the first time, the pink tree paeony has flowered.