Signs Of Spring

We worked all day yesterday in glorious sunshine, a welcome change from the gloom of late and all around us definite signs of spring are appearing. This has been the first time we have seen the herons this year, gathering like prehistoric pterodactyls on the tree tops around the lake, I think the sunshine turned their thoughts to nesting again. Our chatter was also of warmer times as we discussed which flowers would adorn our own gardens this summer, already all of us are itching to start the cycle by nestling our precious seeds in the good earth once more, even after the dreadful weather last year hope forever springs eternal in a gardeners heart. Monday will be our last day working around the lake this year, it is almost time to turn from lumberjacks to tillers and sowers again.

"One swallow does not make a spring, nor does one fine day"
Aristotle

Shandy likes the thought of spring too!

Life Through A Lens

I've got yet another new camera, as a gardener who likes to take snaps of whatever is going on I do seem to go through quite a few. Hopefully this one will live up to its name, all the others have met their end by becoming clogged with grit and exposed to more moisture than was probably wise, "Bluey" though is water, dirt and cold proof and will even withstand being dropped off a ladder. It might even take decent pictures! Only time will tell. I'm not much of a photographer I admit, but I hope you all enjoy getting a glimpse into my somewhat eccentric world. At last we have kissed goodbye to January the month of discontent, now we must wrestle with February and it's commercial pitfall of Valentines day, in the months defence though it is mercifully short and the bulbs are feeling brave enough to peek above the soil at last, hope is being offered to us once more.

"The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives to keep on looking"
Brooks Atkinson

Monday Feast Day

Our work clearing around the edge of the lake continues so please forgive the repetitive nature of the blog. I also apologise for yet another photograph of our lunch, but yesterdays was the best yet. It's no mean feat to cook for six people round an open fire, Sausage sandwiches with fried onions and mustard followed by baked bananas with cinnamon and plenty of tea! The next project might have to be a shelter of some kind but that will probably have to wait until next year. I'll leave you with a rather good fungus that Paul spotted, it's called the scarlet pixie cap and is edible believe it or not, however no one fancied any with their lunch!

"Our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a continual feast"
Norman Vincent Peale

Bacon Sandwich Blues

A bit of a catch up blog from the last few days is all I can offer for this latest post. Thursday at Harlow Carr offered no new delights to share with you apart from some of the class walking down through the pine woods into town to check out a turf conference, it turned out to be of little interest to us gardeners being of more appeal to green keepers and the like, but all of us were drooling over the shiny state of the art lawnmowers. Sausage Saturday didn't happen of course due to the snow bomb dropped on us on Friday night, so another enforced day off saw Dave and I walking Chum in the valley gardens where we had great fun throwing snowballs at his head. Chum was off the lead for once to allow for maximum enjoyment but it wasn't long before he disgraced himself with his usual elan, catching a whiff of bacon sandwiches from the Magnolia Cafe and ignoring increasingly desperate cries of "biscuit" from us, he was soon jumping all over a poor family trying to enjoy their breakfast. Luckily for us no one lost any food and they seemed to find it all amusing, but it was a very close call! Back to work Monday with a bit of luck, if we're not all washed away by snow-melt.

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelt as good as bacon"
Doug Larson

That's about as sexy as a lawnmower gets!

Comfort Is Key

Seating fit for the butt cheeks of a queen!

I managed to fit a mid week visit to Norton Conyers in today and to be honest I leapt at the chance after being confined to barracks for five days. Yes it was still cold and we are still roughing it in the woods but the company and exercise make up for that. Each time we camp out we manage to raise our comfort levels by a few degrees and to be fair our seating arrangements have not been up to much so far, amounting to a couple of logs (One for each cheek is best!), but today Giles excelled himself and made benches-much better. Shandy seemed unimpressed however preferring the cushioning of a bed of sawdust. It's sausage Saturday again next working shift but this time I'm determined to have onions and mustard too, watch this space......

"Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has"
Billy Graham

The Snow Gift

One of the few days of the year with not a gardener in sight down at the local allotments

If it is going to snow at all it might as well do it properly like today, no dithering about whether to go to work or school or not. I just wish someone would make a definitive decision about closing the night before now we have such good forecasts, then I wouldn't have to get up at six o' clock to listen to Stray FM's snow watch and the teenagers could have a lie in. Still they are delighted to have a legitimate day off for once and are perfectly capable of making it in to town, whereas making it to school was simply impossible! I have managed to fill my morning by walking Chum, not easy in skiddy conditions as he pulls, visiting the local builders merchants to buy a snow shovel, clearing our drive in double quick time only to watch the snow quickly accumulate again and making it down to the bottom of the garden to feed and water the birds. All that remains to be done is to lay the fire in and make a chili for tea, the world is still, quiet and serene, a gift to those of us with busy schedules.

"Life is the first gift, love is the second and understanding the third"
Marge Piercy

The bird table cafe is always open whatever the weather

Snowbound

No work for me today for obvious reasons, I don't think anyone else will have turned in either, except for Giles, he'll work through anything! Instead I took Chum for a long walk, much preferable to staying inside with two miserable teenagers, both have colds and one is studying for important exams next week, my service on demand button was wearing out fast! So out into the snowy solitude we went, I could tell from watching the snow fall last night that it was going to be crisp, each flake sparkled as it drifted down caught in the warm gleam of the street lamp. I love the sound good snow makes when you walk upon the virgin sward, a crunch and then a squeak, with Chum pushing his nose through the drifts beside me like a mini snowplough. He always was a snow dog, the very first time he was allowed out as a puppy the weather was like today so it always makes him playful. There is more to come the forecasters predict which means my pay check could be as light as the snowflakes by the end of the month, roll on spring!

"Snow and adolescence are the only problems that disappear if you ignore them long enough"
Earl Wilson