A not so gentle reminder

Today has been another glorious day, it really does feel as if though we are truly into spring.
The plum blossom is beginning to show and the apple blossom is just breaking bud.There are spring flowers and new shoots everywhere.The birds are either busy collecting material for their nest or searching for food for the first of their young. The bumble bees are about as are a few butterflies. However this morning we woke to yet another frost...quite a hard one, with all the fields white, not just the ones in the valley. A reminder that it is still early in the year and we shouldn't be too hasty with planting the garden.

Having said that we have just spent most of the day gardening, sowing seeds, planting potatoes, onions and few companion flower plants !! The tomatoes have been potted on.

The nettles in the paddock have been strimmed back and I have cut the grass in the hen enclosure.

Alfie has discovered he can 'bounce' and is already making Annie despair of his antics...he does need a friend, if only to give Annie some peace !

I tried candling the eggs today it's a little early and I only 'did' the Speckled Sussex, but if I'm right 11 out of 12 are fertile.... but very early days.

Last night the grey goose was on the nest alongside the young one and this morning the gander was on the nest, so we removed the young one to see what was happening. There were two freshly laid eggs and one broken one. The two new ones I'm sure are the grey goose'. I took them away and broke them open, both were fresh but I think fertile. The broken one was one of the young goose' and was clear. So she is now down to sitting on 9. Very often geese aren't fertile in their first year so it will be interesting to see if she does hatch any.

After such glorious weather over the past few days tomorrow's forecast is for heavy rain and possibly a wet week but hopefully no frosts!!