A hint of spring?

Today’s guest picture comes from my sister Mary. She went down to the Thames for a walk yesterday and found a display of sitting gulls in front of Blackfriars Station on the bridge.

We had another grey and chilly day here, with a north westerly breeze making sure that we didn’t get too excited by the temperature being above freezing (4°C at breakfast time).

Margaret came round for coffee and she was well wrapped up against the chilly air. When she left, I took a moment to look at the birds and was quite surprised to find very few about. A siskin gave me a sideways look . . .

. . . but he was the only one on the feeder.

I went out and did some shredding and added the results to a barrowful of garden tidying that Mrs Tootlepedal had done yesterday. Then I deposited the whole lot into compost Bin A. While I was there, I got the compost sieve out and sieved a barrowful of compost from Bin D. It is in excellent condition and was very easy to sieve. The big red bucket of ready to use compost is now full to the brim, ready and waiting to go out onto the beds.

I came back in to warm up my hands and saw that the siskin had been replaced by a blue tit as the sole visitor to the feeder. It paid several quick visits.

While I had been visiting the compost bins, I couldn’t help but notice that the car was looking rather grubby so in the spirit of spring cleaning, I gave it a good wash and hose down. I also took the opportunity to use a little air compressor to check the tyre’s pressures and add some air to them. Exhausted by being actually useful for once, I went back in again.

The topmost branch on the walnut tree is a popular spot, and different birds come to enjoy it on different days. It was the turn of a collared dove today.

I had spread some of the fallen seed from under the feeder on to the middle lawn earlier in the day and blackbirds and chaffinches were very grateful.

The amount of birds on the feeder doubled at one point. (You can see more seed being added to the discard pile. How they manage to drop the seed behind them is a mystery.)

After a helping of Mrs Tootlepedal’s lightly curried parsnip soup for lunch, I had another look at the birds and finally found a flurry of action at the feeder.

The forecast held out a 50% chance of rain in the afternoon, and as there was cold wind blowing, I thought of going for a walk and went upstairs to put my walking socks on. However, when I looked out of the window, the clouds were high in the sky and the trees were not blowing about much, so I changed my plan and my clothes and went for a cycle ride instead.

Because it was pretty chilly, I took my electric bike and pedalled round my customary Canonbie route, going down the main road first as fast as I could in an effort to get home before any rain appeared. As a result, I didn’t stop to take a picture until I had done 14 miles when I checked to see if there were any ducks in the seasonal pond at Tarcoon. Not only were there no ducks, but there was hardly any pond left either.

It was quite a contrast to my visit a week ago.

Although it was grey, it was quite a clear day compared to my last outing, and I was able to enjoy some seasonably brown colours as I went over the final hill before dropping down into the Wauchope valley.

Self seed Sitka spruce trees have crept in among the broadleaf planting

One of the better surfaces on the back roads at the moment. Frosty temperatures have taken their toll elsewhere.

Sheep graze under my favourite oak tree.

By pedalling as fast as I could over the final four miles, with the gentle gradient and the wind in my favour (and applying electrical assistance on the small lumpy bits on the way), I managed to get my average speed up to just above 15 mph for the 20 mile trip. This was about the same speed as Dropscone and I used to manage unassisted when we often cycled this route before coffee in the mornings ten or so years ago. We were young then.

I had beaten any potential rain, and I even had time for a quick walk round the garden when I got home. Our snowdrops are looking promising . . .

. . . and there are hints of early daffodils too.

We usually see the first daffodil in the garden about the second week of February.

I don’t think that the old chimney pot that acts as the centre piece of the circular garden outside the kitchen window is going to make it through another year.

We had an interesting flower moment this morning. Mrs Tootlepedal had only just remarked that she didn’t much care for the scent of the sarcococca outside the back door . . .

. . . when the lady who was delivering my big sack of birdfood said, “What a wonderful smell that plant by the back door has.” I have a very poor sense of smell so I remain neutral.

The blue tit’s visits provided me with the flying bird of the day. It is not a great picture and the blue tit is not actually flying, but it is a change from the usual suspects. You can’t have everything.