Sunday – Home – The first day of meteorological spring and the sun is out albeit with threatening clouds still in the sky. The lack of entries for the past month is indicative of deterioration of my hip. However, hope is on the way, I have a pre-op assessment for replacement tomorrow.
The bed that will be for beans this year is hoed. Grass needs to be removed around the edges but my hip and back are not up to it at the moment. The unthinned carrots in what will be the potato patch are dug out. There are enough small carrots for a good meal. There are also a couple of heads of purple sprouting. Yesterday I cleared vines that snake their way across the patio. They were then shredded and put into the compost.
A Greenfinch sings at the top of the Ash tree. Spotty the Blackbird moves across the garden making sure that there are no interlopers in his territory. Daffodils and crocuses continue to come into flower as the Snowdrops gradually fade.
Wednesday – Home – The huge, orange full moon sinks below the roofline of the houses in South Street. The morning is cool and bright. A Great Tit calls non-stop in the garden. I had assumed that Spotty the Blackbird had established his territory but there appears to be an interloper. Doubtless dominance will be sorted out. A Robin stands on the top of the feeder. A flock of House Sparrows chirrup and chase around the laurel.
Later in the morning I remove some brambles and cut back the hellebores that have fallen into the pond. The forced rhubarb needs to be cropped. Kay reports the first Brimstone butterfly of the year. Bees are visiting pulmonaria flowers. In the afternoon I cut back the bramble patch. Kay now spots the year’s first Orange Tip butterflies.
Friday – Home – I stagger around the shops, all I can manage with my hip and back aching furiously. The forced rhubarb is pulled. Slugs on it are thrown into the chicken run where the hens eye them suspiciously. Rhode seems to have gone off lay again. It is colder and the grey has returned. Leaf buds are appearing on the Conference pear.
Sunday – Leominster – It is a murky morning, mist in the distance, damp here. A Blackbird bird sings from behind the houses. Noisy Jackdaws fly to and fro. More sit on the rooftops along with Wood Pigeons. Another Blackbird sings from an Ash tree in the street. The simple higher pitched songs of several Dunnocks come from the bottom of the street. Onto the railway bridge. Trees and undergrowth have been cleared between the old third platform and the woods. Several Wrens are singing in the woodland. Rabbits are still about further down the abandoned track. A Robin sings from the very top of one of the trackside trees. A black dog races across Lammas Meadow. Another tree has been felled at the foot of the steps covering them in sawdust; logs are piled beside the path.
Onto Butts Bridge. The River Lugg is flowing swiftly and grey. A Blackcap is singing upstream some distance. More Wrens and Robins are in good voice in the bushes around the bridge. Back round to Pinsley Mill. Half a dozen Redwings are in the trees across the track.
Into the Millennium orchard. The Grey Squirrel runs along the fence. There is hardly anything left of the rotting apples now. Lesser Celandines are coming into flower. A pair of Bullfinches are in a tall Hazel. Hawthorns are beginning to turn green as their leaves unfold. Blackthorn is in flower. A Grey Heron flies over. Bell practice commences. Primroses are in flower under the bushes. The grey-green water of the River Kenwater flows past. The lawn across the river is covered in bunches of daffodils.
A Song Thrush sings by the entrance to the churchyard. Grey Squirrels bound across the grass where there are holes dug by rabbits. The snowdrops in the churchyard have finished leaving large areas of a dull green to the bright grass. More molehills have appeared. A large rosette of thistle leaves grows out of the base of a tomb by the church.
Into Church Street where there is a sudden whirr of wings as a large flock of feral pigeons fly over.
Home – The crab apple is pruned. It is a bit late but needs to be done. Next year we ought to give it a major chop!
Wednesday – Leominster – A Red Kite circles the town centre. They seem to have taken years to reach the town after being regularly seen in the countryside to east and west. Fly overs have been increasingly common.
Home – Kay is kindly clearing the bed that will have beans and peas this year. I will soon sow some peas and the broad beans in pots in the greenhouse are beginning to sprout. Lettuce seedling are transplanted into modules and put in the greenhouse. Tomato seedling are put into pots but they will stay in the bathroom a while yet. A few more cordon tomatoes are needed so I sow some more seeds. We notice there is Mistletoe growing on the Gladstone apple. Rhode is back in lay.
In the afternoon the weather turns even more changeable. Jackdaws walk up and down our roof. House Sparrows dust bathe on the path between the Laurel and mound. A female Blackbird watches nervously from the apple tree. Others chatter excitedly in the bushes.
Sunday – Leominster – Above the sky is a mixture of blue and cloud although it is far thicker and grey in the West. The pavement covered in the pea-like pods of the False Acacia that is leaning somewhat precariously out across the street. A Blackbird sings from an Ash tree that is still hanging on to numerous large bunches of brown keys. A van from the local florist passes, it is Mother’s Day. Along the ginnell. A Dunnock, Blackbird and Great Tit sing from the garden of the White Lion.
Onto the railway bridge. Now now the area has been cleared of undergrowth and trees, it is much clearer that there were two lines running between present down platform and the river. One was the line from the GWR Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster which joined the present line, formerly the L&NW & GW Joint Shrewsbury & Hereford Branch line, the other a line which led to the engine shed. The footbridge between the platforms is relatively modern, the old footbridge was at the other end of the station buildings, now completely missing. Also missing is the signal box which stood high above the down platform. It appears comparing early 20th century and modern maps that the line of trees between the White Lion garden and the rails have been planted since the platform was shortened to its present length.
Onto Butts Bridge. It is also noticeable from the maps that the River Lugg has moved eastwards and Butts Bridge actually stood some 20 yards to the east. Robin, Great Tit, Wren, Song Thrush, Blue Tit and Blackbird are all in song. The water level in the river remains unchanged. A Kingfisher flies upstream, pausing on a low hanging branch before disappearing up around the bend. Catkins from the Black Poplars looking like red and yellow caterpillars lay on the bridge. A ring count of the stump of the Ash tree felled at the foot of the railway bridge steps reveals it was at least 45 years old with a second trunk some 15 years younger.
Into Pinsley Mill. The resident Common Buzzard is in the Black Poplar tree on the far side of the river. The ground in the Millennium orchard is spotted yellow where far more Lesser Celandines have come into flower. The Belfast to Bristol Airbus flies through the clouds. Leaves are just budding from one or two of the apple trees but most are still dormant. Ransoms, wild garlic, leaves are growing well in the big patch at the foot of the churchyard. I pick a few handfuls for the hens. There are, I think, more large underground dens here, either Fox or Badger. Like the Lugg, the River Kenwater is little changed from previous weeks.
Into the churchyard. A pair of Mistle Thrushes fly up into one of the great evergreens. Bell practice is in full flow. Pink and white china flowers are emerging on the magnolia by Grange Court.
Tuesday – Home – At dawn there is a scattering of high cloud in a blue sky, but to the east is a large mass of dark grey cloud moving northwards looking like a steam engine running along the top of Eaton Hill. It is mild.
The large hazel at the end of the garden is thinned. A decent number of plant supports are cut from the stems. Then Brambles are pulled, although many get cut as their roots are too deep. I need to keep on top of them this year. Kale, mustard and chard seeds are sown and put in the greenhouse. A row of peas, Kelvedon and British Wonder, is sown in the newly cleared bed.
House Sparrows are very active in the laurel and rambling rose bushes. Every now and again trouble breaks out with loud squawking. Spotty patrols the garden, defending his territory. Gulls and Jackdaws are becoming ever more vocal. A Brimstone flies through. Large queen bumblebees search patches of bare earth for suitable nesting sites.
The “meadow” now has a fine display of primroses, ranging from the traditional buttery yellow to purple. Snake’s Head Fritillaries are coming into flower. Beautiful cerise flowers cover the quince.
Sunday – Leominster – It is a murky morning, mist in the distance, damp here. A Blackbird bird sings from behind the houses. Noisy Jackdaws fly to and fro. More sit on the rooftops along with Wood Pigeons. Another Blackbird sings from an Ash tree in the street. The simple higher pitched songs of several Dunnocks come from the bottom of the street. Onto the railway bridge. Trees and undergrowth have been cleared between the old third platform and the woods. Several Wrens are singing in the woodland. Rabbits are still about further down the abandoned track. A Robin sings from the very top of one of the trackside trees. A black dog races across Lammas Meadow. Another tree has been felled at the foot of the steps covering them in sawdust; logs are piled beside the path.
Bell practice commences. Primroses are in flower under the bushes. The grey-green water of the River Kenwater flows past. The lawn across the river is covered in bunches of daffodils.
Home – Kay is kindly clearing the bed that will have beans and peas this year. I will soon sow some peas and the broad beans in pots in the greenhouse are beginning to sprout. Lettuce seedling are transplanted into modules and put in the greenhouse. Tomato seedling are put into pots but they will stay in the bathroom a while yet. A few more cordon tomatoes are needed so I sow some more seeds. We notice there is Mistletoe growing on the Gladstone apple. Rhode is back in lay.
Mother’s Day. Along the ginnell. A Dunnock, Blackbird and Great Tit sing from the garden of the White Lion.
Onto the railway bridge. Now now the area has been cleared of undergrowth and trees, it is much clearer that there were two lines running between present down platform and the river. One was the line from the GWR Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster which joined the present line, formerly the L&NW & GW Joint Shrewsbury & Hereford Branch line, the other a line which led to the engine shed. The footbridge between the platforms is relatively modern, the old footbridge was at the other end of the station buildings, now completely missing. Also missing is the signal box which stood high above the down platform. It 
appears comparing early 20th century and modern maps that the line of trees between the White Lion garden and the rails have been planted since the platform was shortened to its present length.
Tuesday – Home – At dawn there is a scattering of high cloud in a blue sky, but to the east is a large mass of dark grey cloud moving northwards looking like a steam engine running along the top of Eaton Hill. It is mild.
The large hazel at the end of the garden is thinned. A decent number of plant supports are cut from the stems. Then Brambles are pulled, although many get cut as their roots are too deep. I need to keep on top of them this year. Kale, mustard and chard seeds are sown and put in the greenhouse. A row of peas, Kelvedon and British Wonder, is sown in the newly cleared bed.