OLD NEWS AND NEWT NEWS

The plastic heron has faded so much we have a Great White Egret by the pond.

The sun is shining, I am in my study writing this and R is upstairs on Zoom doing Yoga!

Yesterday R noticed we have life in the pond, apart from pond skaters, tadpoles, water beetles and whirligigs - we have newts, I think they are Palmate newts.

Every day I walk down the garden - is that a first potato sprout, a bean shoot, have the carrots, cauliflowers, broccoli, spinach germinated? It is too early for the slow parsnips - reluctant vegetables.
We are full of asparagus, it is growing faster than we can eat it - well almost. The taste of freshly cut asparagus leaves the supermarket stuff in its wake - glorious - one of the better things I put in the garden.
The ammi in the shed have outstripped the cosmos and are 18" tall, will need putting out soon despite it only being April. We have courgette seedlings there too.
I am hoeing away to keep weeds down - one weed that has become particularly annoying is ivy - up trees, along the ground, everywhere. At least its is not thorny like the brambles.

One plant that is suffering with the drought, despite watering, is the rhubarb. It may be time to pull it all, feed and water it, and let it regrow.

Rain is forecast for the week - will believe it when it happens. 
R got up this morning (Saturday) at some unearthly hour and went up the garden and recorded the dawn chorus. I slept through it.

Sunday and overcast and cooler. We have ducklings, ten small mallards on the pond this morning.
A load of logs for the wood burner being delivered - They will have to be stacked in the new log shed. 😒 Then we had a few, and I mean a few drops of rain and we covered the heap and retired quickly for a cup of tea.

We also have a new Grandson born in Oxford on Friday, no name yet. 

Cannot stay out of the garden with the camera so here are a few flowers -

 Kingcup

Orange Welsh Poppy

 Euphorbia

Tulip

Camellia

Tree peony 

Yellow tree peony

Poppy 

 Quince

Azalea

Rhododendron

Osteospermum

And one of R's favourites - 

Back to shifting logs.

Finally done Monday morning, Grey wagtail on the roof, wood pigeons everywhere - where is the Peregrine falcon when you want it?

The bluebells are in full flow - about ten days early I think.

Every day we walk, enjoy the view 20 miles over Morecambe Bay and then we find a tragedy - a juvenile song thrush, I think, perhaps hit by a rare car. I lift it from the road and place it on the verge.

So,  out cutting off suckers from the damsons - all over the place - and unwanted sycamore and ash plantlets.

By Thursday we have had rain and it is raining. The gatepost has rotted and I have had to cobble it shut until it can be repaired. 

I now have video of our ducklings - 

Tomorrow, May 1st is May Gosling (look it up on t'internet) and We wish Lauren a happy birthday. 😀