Al fresco lunch

It wasn’t exactly tropical, but today I managed lunch on the summerhouse veranda for the first time this year.  A slightly chilly wind didn’t encourage too much lingering, but there was warmth in the sun and it was decidedly pleasant sitting outside and watching the birds going about their business: a pair of bluetits eyeing me warily (they may be the pair who are looking to nest in the summerhouse nestbox and not too keen on my being around), and a wren and a pair of coal tits checking out the stump of the big ash tree.  Earlier there had been a brief glimpse of a warbler (chiffchaff?) on the buddleja.  It will be cold again tonight (grass frost last night), but the sun will be back tomorrow, and, looking at the forecast, daytime temperatures are to be in the mid-teens for the foreseeable future.

Overhead, a pilot obviously thought it was a good day too.

A smile in the sky

The daffodils are coming out:

Among the various jobs tackled in the garden since my last post was the decanting of the comfrey and nettle tea.  I had one lot of each stewing away in the Dump corner since last year, and another of comfrey that I started a couple of months ago.  The latter was suspiciously light when I picked it up, and on opening it I found the comfrey nicely rotted away, but no liquid in the container!  Note to self: when making comfrey tea, check first that the container is watertight.  The older containers were fine, and the contents are now all bottled up and stored in the greenhouse.  The rotted nettle and comfrey remains were put on the compost ‘bin’, and two new lots of comfrey started off for use later in the summer.

A pot of fresh comfrey tea (the slate on top is to weight it down)

... and the dregs from the old pots on the compost 'bin'

The broad beans have been sown (in situ), and a gutterpipe in the greenhouse has been sown with carrot seed – although I see it’s a year old, and I don’t have any new seed (maybe I was a bit too strict with myself about cutting back on the seed order!).  The garlic and shallots are sprouting, but the fleece has been left on them until they’re a little more rooted.

I’ve also been digging out the weeds around the dogwoods, to the delight of the robins and blackbird.  It’s slow going because of the thick couch grass roots, but progress is gradually being made.

I’ve seen a few butterflies (brimstones) in the village, but not in our garden; admittedly there isn’t much at the moment to attract them, but the bees are starting to appear and are finding sustenance.  The violets at the bottom of the garden are in flower, and were being inspected by a large bumblebee today, which encouraged me to cut a few for the house so that we can enjoy the powerful scent!

can't photograph the scent ...