Spring is just around the corner- but as I sit writing these notes and looking out of the window it is hard to believe. The haw frost has not left the trees all day and it did not yesterday either. The weather man said the cold snap would end in a couple of days, but that is also hard to believe.
Birds are constantly back and forth to the bird table and this year we have kept the pond pumps going so that there is always running water available. The birds need to keep their feathers in tip top condition with such cold nights, and they have been queuing up in the bushes, waiting their turn for a wash and brush up. One beligerant robin likes to think he is in charge of the bird table, but he soon dissapears when the jay or a group of ten or a dozen longtailed tits arrives.
It is quite a few years since we had any bullfinches in the garden, they used to strip our prunus of flower buds, but this has not happened for some time. A pair arrived just before Christmas, and now we see them sitting in the lilac bushes. The male is one of our most colourful birds with a jet black cap and a striking pink-red chest. As they fly away a white rump is visible. the female has the white rump and black cap but her breast is much duller. I hope they wont eat all the flower buds, but they also love ash-keys and there are plenty of these about so my fingers are crossed. They are such pretty birds and brighten these dull days.
At least the great spotted woodpecker thinks spring is on the way, they have started drumming to mark their territories already.
I am hoping this extended cold spell will kill off some of the pests that have been attacking our trees and shrubs. Our horse chestnut and our wistaria have both suffered from alien pests so I am hoping for the best. Our son John, who has studied climate change, tells me that unpredictable weather is the future for us, with higher average temperatures, but some very hot spells and some very cold ones, sometimes very dry and, you guessed it, sometimes very wet! Well blue sky every day would get rather boring wouldnt it!
Wendy Bathurst