As the Days Lengthen

We are nearly at the end of January, and 1st February is the date that Miss Read tells us is the first time of the year that you can go for a walk after tea. Tea in this instance is 'four o'clock afternoon tea', not tea meaning dinner or supper. So as we are now out of the darkest 10 weeks of the winter, it is time to supersede the Shortest Day post and look forward to spring.

My snowdrops are not quite out yet, so here's a photo from February a few years ago - I'm sure they will be flowering before this post gets replaced! 

Signs of Spring

Waiting for news of 'the way out of Lockdown' - much of which seems to have already been briefed so as always will be an anticlimax.

In the meantime the blanket is finished, and the snowdrops are out.

February's delivery of flowers from Bloom & Wild was particularly good, and also included 3 tulips (not pictured) still attached to their bulbs, so lasting beautifully and will go into the garden when they have died back. 

The apple and pear trees (only one of each) need pruning, so I must garner the energy to do that soon, before the sap really starts rising. 

...oh, and we've both had the first dose of Pfizer now, and the dates for our 2nd appointments

And now it's February

Not sure where January went, but I'm glad it's over, and there are snowdrops out in the garden. 

On Saturday 1st some friends came over for tea, and whilst we didn't do a 'Miss Read' and go for a walk afterwards, it was sunny and light enough to have done so. One of the friends came with a large handful of daffodil buds - enough to split between 2 vases, so I can enjoy them in the kitchen and the garden room. 

They arrived looking like this... 

 

...and 2 days later they look like this!

 

Signs of spring indeed!

Snow or Snowdrops?

The snowdrops are nearly out ... but we are threatened with the real thing tomorrow. Except we shall be on our way between here and the flat in Poole, via Yapp Brothers Wine Merchants in Mere, and the Udder Farm Shop, where we are booked for lunch. So we'll need to eat fairly quickly and get on our way, before the weather closes in at about 1.30!

The Scarf I started knitting before Christmas, with yarn bought last August, is nearly finished, and ready for handing over to its future owner in March when I see her.

Candlemas and Signs of Spring

I don't know whether the weather today has been bad enough to count as winter gone, or bright enough for it to take another flight,* as there have been sunny and cloudy spells here. But a couple of days ago it was pleasant enough to take a few photos of bits of the garden, which was cheering, as there are snowdrops nearly out ...

Primroses ...

Hellebores ...

Lungwort ...
















...and my camellia is in bud for the first time in ages! 

* If Candlemas Day be sun and bright
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain
Winter will not come again.

A Snowdrop Day!

What might have been a drudge around to take some stuff to an auctioneer and pick up an order from the farm shop became a magical day yesterday. 
We set off soon after 9 and got through Salisbury & Wilton without any trouble - not always a given, so doubly welcome when it does happen! We noted on the A27 on the way to Salisbury that the snowdrops were out in the usual places along the roadside, but it wasn't until we turned off the A30 and were on our way to Teffont that we began to see more and more of them along the verges. Then we turned south at Teffont, and the narrow road there was lined on both sides with a marvellous array, all the way through the village to the church. Several more clumps as we went through to Fovant and rejoined the A30, and then all the way to Shaftesbury we came upon patches; some rather the worse for wear from the muddy spray coming up off the road, others gleaming white.
We had a very pleasant lunch and collected our meat and one or two other things - is it possible to go to the Udder Farm shop and not spend a substantial sum? - and set off towards home again. 
Most of the time it had been impossible to stop and take photos, but we did manage to get these, by the side of a lay-by on the A30 near Swallowcliff, on the way home. 

They are in a rather messy grassy area, and not as spectacular as some we had seen earlier, but it's the best we could do. 
I'm sure we saw several different types, as some seemed larger than others, and it wasn't just that some were more open than others. But I'm not an expert! I have a very small clump in the front garden that are also in full bloom, but they'd be embarrassed to be shown in this company!