Berberis

The berberis blossom has begun to open. In another week or two it will be a glorious golden yellow, dripping off the bush. You can just make out the colour on the buds. The fruiting bodies will be a beautifully subtle lime green. I'll post another picture of it when it is fully out.

Mowed the lawn this morning - normally it makes it look really smart, but over the winter I put lawnsand down to kill the moss. Unfortunately it was more moss than grass, so I now have a very tidy, very patchy lawn, which I hope will improve as it gets warmer and new grass grows.

Had a pair of nuthatches in the garden this morning. The stayed for a few days before Christmas, but I haven't seen them since, so maybe they were migrating south last time and they're heading north again now. It would be nice to have them nesting locally.

Went out on my bike this afternoon. Glorious sunshine lighting up the fields, which are turning into a patchwork as the farmers get more ploughing done. The wind was still cold, but it was more sheltered down by the river and you could feel the warmth of the sun.

More and more flowers are appearing on the hedge banks. There have been primroses for a while, but celandine have joined them, looking like little yellow stars, and there was the odd dandelion open as well. Saw my first butterfly, but only a quick glimpse, so couldn't identify it. There are a lot more boats moored on the river than there were last week when I was down there, and while there weren't many birds around, I could hear curlews calling from the mud along the river.