The snowdrops are out!

Apologies but for the first time since I started this blog I wasn’t able to write it last week. I was in Poland until late on Friday and just did not have a minute to sit down. But this did give me some perspective on the relative merits of the UK and its climate.

It has been pretty dreary here this week. Dark, damp and miserable most of the time. The cats have really only gone out at night as it is less depressing. They spend the day curled up in their beds or in a warm spot, out of the rain and wind, waking up just to be fed or watered.

But that said, in comparison to Poland and the centre of Europe it is positively warm and the garden is starting to think about spring. Snow drops have appeared and are out. Daffodil heads are forming and the flowers are starting to wake up. The Hellebores are really beautiful and should last for months to come (see above and below).

You get a sense of optimism from the borders as things start to appear and the springs colours gradually spill onto the garden canvas.

I don’t own a proper coat and I am very used to walking around in shirt sleeves even when the road is icy and your breath freezes on the wind-screen. But in Poland last week the skin on my arms froze to the point that I could put them on my face and it felt like an ice-pack. The roads were icy enough that whilst it was fun to get some fresh air the floor was treacherous.

For all its flaws the UK is a wonderful place to experience nature and every season has its beautiful elements.

The lawn has measles

I have previously put pictures of our unwelcome lawn inhabitant on this blog as our new visitor slowly digs its way around the lawn depositing soil mounds as it goes.

Being away for a week the mole was left to its own devices and it has taken full advantage. Not only has it spread further across the lawn but it has also dug all about the flower beds. Not just in one or two places but all over the place, burying the bulbs in soil. I have never seen moles do this before. They have occasionally interfered with the vegetables patches such that previously healthy beetroot or carrots vanish into the soil like something from an episode of Wallace and Gromit, but never in the flower beds.

But in travelling around and looking into the neighbours’ gardens I have discovered that I am not alone. There are mole hills appearing everywhere and far more than usual. Maybe I have just noticed them more, but others have commented too. The moles are taking over!

If we were still debating the BREXIT vote I am sure that the moles would have been blamed for stealing our food or ruining our land, (another obvious reason for leaving the EU). But with that already sorted out they have quietly gone about their business, safe in the knowledge that the dreary weather will give them ample cover.

Interestingly they seem more than capable of digging the ground even when it is frozen so central Europe is not immune to this epidemic either. I have seen nothing in the news about mole plagues but if you see it soon you heard it here first.

As I drift off to sleep at night I have wondered what to do with a plague of moles ….

Maybe mole mariniere, a spot of mole sakka or spaghetti molenaise.

(Don’t worry I won’t give up the day job!)

Majestic but much ignored

Recently we visited our local wetlands area, Ham Wall. This place is a magnet for all types of birds. Whilst driving back we turned a corner and came across a buzzard sitting on a post looking at potential prey.

The markings on the bird were beautiful. The picture below doesn’t really do it justice and was taken by sticking my arm out the window of the car so as not to frighten it away. We sat and watched it for about 10 minutes while it stalked, jumped and preened, but what a sight it was, and yet most people pass them by on a motorway without a second look.

All around us there are country folk most of whom seem to hunt in one way or another. Not being one of the hunting fraternity I fail to see the attraction but we are definitely in the minority in our locality.

The crack of gunfire is often within earshot, although we never see anyone in the fields that surround us. Sometimes it is close enough that I look around to see if someone is aiming at me.

Walking down the main street in a local village we saw a sight that is something you just don’t see very often these days. Someone had caught themselves several braces of pheasant and had hung them up from the garage door. Hanging your dead pheasant up on the front of your garage for the world to see is a bit of a statement. I am surprised no one had stolen them. But I bet they tasted nice once they had matured a little!

Last summer we treated ourselves to a new addition to the garden that has featured in a number of previous pictures, a raised bed. Well after some wrangling about the quality of the finish we finally got it planted up and enjoyed it for the final part of the summer and autumn. It was our pride and joy!

Over the winter it has gradually started to surface some of the issues we feared the most. The pictures below show just how much it has deteriorated in a very short space of time. The mortar appears to have had far too little cement in the mix. Our builder is now having to sort it out and re-build it. Not a good start to the year!

We went to see the film Jackie over the weekend, a film about the immediate aftermath of the Kennedy assassination. What a horrible situation to find yourself in where your husband is killed and within a matter of days you have to move out of your house and then lead the world in mourning.

For all the sympathy you feel for her it is a very slow film and although interesting, not one I would entirely recommend unless you have had a bout of insomnia and need something to help you get off.

Rather better than that was the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 exhibition that is still on in the M-Shed in Bristol.

https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed/whats-on/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year-2016/

There are some fantastic pictures and it will certainly put anything I can take for the blog to shame. But then they have spent many thousands of pounds on camera equipment, whereas my trusty photo snapper cost a mere snip at the airport on the way to India.

There is no quiz this week. I am planning something different starting next week.

Have a good weekend!

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