We may be latecomers and have not heard what others may have, but it was a delight to hear the wooden tones of a cuckoo calling from high up towards the Bonham’s patch. An especial treat as we have not heard a cuckoo within the M25, in Orpington where we live, for at least 8 years.
The frost had thawed so carting paving and rubble was a slippery job but much eased by using a cheap plastic sleigh.
Bluebell greenery still popping up, especially on the higher land. Likwise the Old Man’s Beard- the frosty few days before do not seem to have affected their enthusiasm. Some of the weedy saplings are budding. The Bonham’s ponds were frozen over at 10 am but thawing by 12.
Recent rains have at last partially filled the ponds. Various fungi, whose identity we have yet to establish, scattered about. Surprising number of youthful foxgloves springing up. Still a dearth of birds- nervous of human intrusion?