Snowdrops and Sunshine

They are at their best at the moment - the snowdrops in my garden, of course. What else would I be writing about at this time of the year? And yesterday was just the day to enjoy them as we experienced a taster of a warm and sunny day. So warm and sunny, in fact, that not far away from us in Coleshill the temperature peaked at 18.7, which is quite a contrast to the previous day, when the wind was decidedly icy and there were still a few remnants of snow around the garden when I took the above photo. It seems, though, that every time the sun comes out, Mike and I are destined to spend the day at the QE, attending his various appointments. At least this time, as the appointment was in the morning, there was a little time to get out into the garden for a short while, once we had arrived back home. So I opened up the greenhouse, trimmed back some of the plants in there, watered the sweet peas and lettuce seedlings, and out in the garden, I cut down the miscanthus (I took this shot of the miscanthus seed head first) and sedum stems. If the weather stays OK, there's plenty of tidying up to do - clearing leaves away from the emerging spring bulbs etc. There were splashes of colour too, as in the front garden the crocus were fully opened in the warm sunshine. As well as the snowdrops, in the back garden the hellebores are continuing to produce their first flowers and the camellia 'Donation' is now in bloom, with lots of buds still to open.

Last week I brought back more of my parsnips from the allotment (and there's still another row to dig up). They were almost perfect, not too big and woody, with few marks, and so tasty. We'll be enjoying more of them this evening, when our son's in-laws join us for a meal. Down on the plot, I had time to inspect things and re-fill the bird feeders etc. There are fat buds on the fruit bushes now, so I'm hoping we'll have an equally fruitful year as the previous one. We are still enjoying last year's harvest although there is, by now, some spare room in the freezer, and empty spaces in the pantry, as the jam, bottled and frozen fruit is used up. My favourite has been the raspberry jam - enjoyed on toast, in Victoria sandwich cakes, on home made scones (with cream, of course) and sometimes as a sauce on ice cream. Yummy!

It was grey and cloudy when I woke this morning, but the sun has broken through occasionally as I sit tapping away at my lap-top. Across the road, the farmer is inspecting his recently ploughed field and I'm wondering what the crop will be this year. There would usually be some indication by now, but he seems to have left it quite late this year. I did think it might be potatoes, but as it's been manured but not limed, I doubt it. In the meantime, my 'Lady Crystal' potatoes, sitting in their egg boxes in the conservatory, are sending out good, strong shoots.

Realising that 'outdoor time' was almost upon me, I spent quite some time last week, updating my family history - a job I'd been putting off for too long. Procrastination is the thief of time. And so it is! I had all winter to do this job, and having left it for so long it was all the more difficult as I tried to work my way through various documents, certificates, photos and e-mails and letters. Still, I've made a start.