Spring has sprung?

What a gorgeous day we are having. Luke and I are sitting in the conservatory because it's finally got warm after a morning of sunshine. We've visited the local garden centre and I've purchased a tray of primroses as they will stand the cold and give a splash of bright colour at the front door. Luke bought a 20kg bag of bird seed and some treats to attract nuthatches. We have had them here before, sharing the nuts with the myriad of tits but they aren't a frequent visitor. We can't put them on the ground yet as our chicks are out and they would greedily gobble them up. Right now, one of them is clearing out my border of any worms she might find. whilst the others are scrubbing around under the wild bird seed feeder waiting for a free lunch after a sparrow or siskin drops some of the food it has pecked out.
Next door's cat is out on the wooden table, basking in the warmth of the sun. Luke still hasn't forgiven her for her misdemeanour on the cooker this week so she's not allowed in.

So many plants are pushing up through the soil and the fresh growth looks very promising but they aren't 'out of the woods' yet. We can still have a hard frost and their tender tips can be cut back by the cold but we only need a day or two of warmth and they seem to grow an inch. Whilst I really want to get outdoors and do a good hard day's gardening I can't actually dig any of the borders because of all the bulbs and root systems that could be destroyed. What I could do is dig over some of the veg patch to enlarge it but as soon as I think that I realise that it's still too blinking cold to enjoy it properly. What I really want to do is sit indoors, enjoy the view and drink copious amounts of steaming milky coffees. A time and a place for everything.

Frosty morning.

Into March, some people will have bought their trays of tiny weak bedding plants and now we've had a frost and those little hopefuls will have suffered a heavy blow. This is why I never buy mine till the risk of frost is over however let's hope we will get our staging up int eh greenhouse and get some seeds planted instead; a much cheaper way to ensure flowers are in the garden.
Getting up to a white covering on the car roof and peeking at the robins, standing bright against a washed out background where the frost cloaked the true colours made me hurry back to bed with two cups of steaming tea. Three hours later all the frost has gone and whilst it's still cold the sun has come out and is lighting the conifers into a vivid green haze. I must put down my fourth cup of tea and get dressed. These birds 'waste' my time like nothing else. I start watching them for a minute then realise an hour has passed. I especially like the blackbirds when they come into land. The flash of raven black feathers, their deep orange beaks and the way they put their heads down, their tails up and scuttle at a rate of knots across the lawn makes me laugh every time. The robins have the photogenic edge and know their place as firm favourites of the gardener whilst the tits are too busy getting peanuts to bother. The shrub that the feeders hang from seems to sway independently of the breeze and it's because it is alive with jostling blue and coal tits all intent on grabbing their next bit of food. In a day those two feeders will be devoid of any nuts. Any that fall on the floor are quickly hoovered up by the chicks if they are out or some of the ground feeders. Nothing gets wasted.

The buzzard debate continues.

Did I tell you that we had our boiler serviced a couple of weeks ago? I only tell you because the chap who serviced the boiler was a bird spotter and he had bird calls on his iPhone. "Watch this," he whispered excitedly as he walked over to the bird feeders. "The birds'll go mad when they hear this". To his disappointment, the birds did nothing but eat their nuts. I didn't have the heart to encourage him further by opening the window wider and letting him stick his hand out to ensure they got to hear it. Anyway, I wanted my boiler serviced! I talked to him about the buzzard visit and the reply I'd had from the expert who said that a buzzard wasn't interested or particularly capable of taking chickens. He believed that a buzzard would do just that. Well, so far we haven't had to worry about it as we haven't had a visit since.
This month's Practical Poultry, to my amazement, has a whole page dedicated to my buzzard question. Part of me feels ridiculously naive to even chance it but when I see how much those chickens enjoy scratching around, locating worms or having a dust bath I can't really justify keeping them in their pen.
Luke showed me a short clip that he recorded of Buck Buckey and Sweety enjoying a dust bath which I will try to put on this blog in the next couple of days. Am I sounding like a proud mother? Over a few chickens? As always, I think I need to get out more!