The warm weather lasted until Friday; on Saturday the T-shirts were replaced by jumpers again as a chilly breeze kicked in, and the central heating, which had been switched off all week, was put back on. Still no rain though. However there's a forecast of a snowfall on Wednesday ....
Growth continues apace in the garden. The plum tree is just starting to flower (just in time to be caught by the snow ...). The early daffs are fading and the late, scented ones are coming out. The yellow tulips came out at the start of the week, but are smaller this year - perhaps because it's so dry? - they do look good with the brunnera. The new tulips in the pots suddenly appeared almost from nowhere - probably because it suddenly occurred to me to water them! There are some nice pink ones, and a single "Tres Chic" all by itself (they were supposed to flower with the forget-me-nots, but they haven't managed to coordinate their timescales properly. Maybe the other TCs will come later?). Some white fritillaries which I bought last year as end-of-season bargains are doing nicely in their shallow pot, and one of the epimediums is giving a burst of yellow over near the hedge. Of the shrubs, the osmanthus - both of them (osmanthuses?) - are in full flow. In the lawn, the cowslips have been joined by a couple of other primulas, one bright yellow, one red - don't know where they came from!
Other plants are stirring, too - the first hosta shoots poking out of their compost, and the lily-of-the-valley is already showing spikes of buds.
The blackbird has been collecting food for nestlings; we seem to have a number of blackbirds around, which results in a few scraps. The thrushes are still about, though no signs yet of them feeding young. We also have greenfinches around again, after a couple of years without them. Some of the sparrows have worked out the new peanut feeder, though they prefer the seed container as it's easier for them; the peanuts have been lasting a lot longer than in the old container! The woodpecker came, took one look at the new feeder and flew off again, but the ever-resourceful squirrel has transferred his attentions to the seeds on at least one occasion. Meanwhile, down below, the pheasant, one or more of his ladies and the pair of partridges who are still around scratch about picking up the bits that the smaller birds drop. We also had a pair of ducks one morning, probably on an outing from the Big House's pond. I'm sure they'd like some rain, too.
