Snow! careful what you wish for...

This morning we woke up to SNOW - horrible wet snow and driving wind. By this afternoon it had turned into steady rain. Only a few miles further north they had snowdrifts and roads were impassable. Reminded of the forecasts of drought and our dry weather so far this year I placed a large plastic dustbin to catch the rainwater pouring out of a blocked gutter (will get up those ladders sometime...).

At long last RAIN!

We've got the first rain for about 3 weeks. It's a serious downpour so will give the broad beans, potatoes and peas in the veg patch a good drenching and fill the water butts. Last year we had a very dry period during April which contributed to our dearth of plums, pears and apples so we're pretty nervous. The water levels in the streams and ponds is very low.

April Fool Sunshine!

The first day of April - and a beautiful morning! The sun is shining but it's still a little cold. After a fortnight of really warm, summery weather yesterday reverted to normal March with grey sky and cold, north wind. Even so I continued with the potato planting and put in a row of mangetout peas.

Last week I discovered a box of potatoes in the garage. I store them in cardboard boxes, the kind that wine bottles come in with the cardboard sections to separate the bottles. The box had got moved onto another shelf and forgotten. There was half a box of Pentland Javelins all sprouting nicely and so I have extra seed potatoes to put in!

Up in the greenhouse discovered that the potatoes in pots had got a touch of frost. Also some of the magnolia tree blossom was "toasted". So winter is still with us.