MARCHING ON

All of us need to escape from time to time but the recent bad weather left me at a loose end - cannot garden, play golf - one can spend only so much time beside a fire reading or watching the bullfinches from the sofa in the kitchen.

The feeding through the cold weather has, I am sure, enabled many small birds to survive the winter like these blue tits. We must have upwards of twenty in the garden and probably the same number of chaffinches. 

One thing the snow did was to reveal which are the new molehills. I then shovelled up the soil, mixed it with wood ash and top dressed the fruit bushes.

Over by the hedge the problem with the new spring was revealed - where the grass had grown more - so I know I will have to extend the drain further than I thought when I put it in.

And I have not quite stopped rabbiting on about the recent snow so here is the house and garden - 
 

And ice on the pond gives me abstract images like these two, the left reflected light, the right at the outflow.

Enough snow stuff - time to move on, March on, as it is has been, according to the weather forecasters, spring since the start of the month 😕.

It must be tough being a heron and flying all the way to our pond to find the frogs below a thick layer of ice. The mallard, however, managed to discover a small area at the edge where there was open water and dabbled as best they could.

I have now finished the digging up of the strawberries, emptied the compost heap and started to move more plants to the holding bed - roses and perennials.

After the ice melted the ducks were back sitting in their favourite place by the pond outlet.

Now it is milder and wetter. The primroses are suddenly coming out in the woodland edge and we have daffodils. Now it is really starting to feel like spring and the seasons are marching on.

There are times, like at the moment, when I feel my body is incompatible with gardening - I hear a cry from the kitchen - 'Get a gardener to help,' - but I rather like to be in control, do it myself.

I know - then I cannot complain about the creaks and twinges.