Watchful Robin

Easter Sunday was a pretty low-key this year. The weather forecast was for rain, but the morning was actually bright and calm, so I went for  a walk along the river. The fritillaries were virtually over, no doubt hurried along by the unseasonably warm conditions of last weekend. Hawthorn and cow parsley were both in bloom, and it felt much more like early May than mid-April. I spent some time watching a heron catching sticklebacks in a reedy pond, and had a couple of good views of the kingfisher. But for my blip I couldn't resist this bold little robin, who sat so close to me, keeping watch over his territory.

In the afternoon Pete and I went to Spalding to visit Molly. Earlier in the week she'd scared us all with a fall on the stairs, and was sporting some very fine purple bruises, giving her a rather panda-like air. Hopefully they should have faded by her birthday party on 6th May. She was a little subdued when we arrived, but livened up when we started discussing the  arrangements. I showed her the playlist of songs I'd compiled, which received general approval, and even got her singing a few snatches while reminiscing about war-time dances. She showed us the beautiful new dress she'd bought, which has spurred me to change the colour scheme of the decorations to match. 

In the evening we had a lovely family meal of slow-cooked lamb with pomegranate molasses, followed by poached rhubarb. Alex and Ben then went off to watch a film with their friends, the last opportunity to be with them before the end of the Easter break.

PS Amazingly it seems that I've reached another milestone - six years of blipping, albeit with a number of gaps, including my my recent holiday to Malta. Life continues to be increasingly busy, and I haven't really been able to spend much time on blip recently. So, I apologise for my current lack of interaction, and am hugely appreciative to all of you who drop by for your kind comments and favours, which I know I don't always reciprocate. This remains a wonderful corner of the internet and I'm very grateful that the site was saved by the hard work of the fab four.