OH and I went up the hill for a quick walk after lunch. I took my inhalers and managed it quite well (it IS steep), though I did stop a couple of times on the way up to, ahem, look at the view! I looked across to my neighbour's land, to see if any of his broodmares had foaled yet. I couldn't see them - one is a grey, so they normally show up, but I thought I saw a dark bay mare down in the field, and rolling. I thought colic . . . or malpresented foal. Anyway, we climbed up to the top, gazed across at Garn Goch, and the precipitous slopes of Black Mountain beyond it, and I took some photos of wild flowers putting out their leaves and proving spring really IS here now, and squinted across the valley again. Yup, definitely one of his dark bay mares, and STILL rolling. We walked faster down the hill and I set off up the valley in the car, to see if Jim knew she was in trouble. As I drew around the final bend and could see the field clearly, I was mortified to discover that the dark bay mare was . . . a dead tree, and its branches sticking up were the mare's 'legs' . . . ah well, better safe than sorry I suppose!
Above: Dog's Mercury, always one of the earliest wild flowers, and below, a good clump of Cow Parsley leaves.
I had a little stroll around the garden with my camera today and have taken some photos of the few things which are now in flower, but everything is starting to break through the soil and those spring bulbs I belatedly planted in January (!) are through and growing and some in flower.
Today I have been busy listing surplus books on Amazon and eBay, and have also put a piece of surplus furniture on eBay, a rather nice oak corner-cupboard on stand. I have some horsey things I want to list today or tomorrow too, so I shall be busy.
Our Middle Daughter arrives home today, a day late (long story), so I have a BIG leg of hogget in the oven and need to do all the accompanying bits to go with it. She's home for three weeks, which will be lovely, though she will be working flat out on her dissertation, so we probably won't be going out anywhere.
Looking across to Black Mountain.
Wild Strawberry flowers - last month there were only two flowers on this plant.
In the garden: the blue Pulmonaria. I have a pink one too.
Palest yellow Cowslips.
Tete-a-tete, and below, LOTS of Aquilegia seedlings have sown themselves in the gravel. For some reason this picture keeps appearing elsewhere on the page . . . I have managed to wreak havoc with my secateurs in the ditch around the back of the house. As I worked, I listened to birdsong, and the chug chug of a tractor dragging a reluctant roller up and down the track,and watched a Buzzard soaring high overhead, and thought about other days when spring is further along, and the sun is warm on your back and life seems worth living again.
