Out & About

First weekend in January has come and gone and with it, thankfully, the six weeks of wet, windy conditions that have caused so much difficulty up and down the country. We are going to need a dry spell of at least that long again to dry things out.  I'm still finding it really difficult to get up early but I expect that will improve as the days slowly lengthen. 

Having said that, Nature is moving along. December was so mild, bulbs and other plants are coming up already. I was out yesterday cleaning up the backyard and after moving the leaf litter, spotted my mini daffodil shoots. The crocosmia and the camellia bush are also showing new growth. The lawn unfortunately is going to need reseeding in patches but that's a job for the Spring. 

And for the first time since I've been living in this area, we have a pair of swans in the canal. There were three of them, two females and a male, but I'm not sure the second female is around much. If they decide to stay in the area we may be treated to the sight of cygnets in the Spring. If you've never seen swans flying, their wings make the most unusual sound, like the honk of Canada geese, muted down.