How variable our climate is!
This winter has been pretty mild, not too many grey rainy days, two of snow and most have been chilly but bright. Last week we made the most of the lovely warm days with primroses appearing in the banks, daffodils and crocus in bloom, sunny skies and the renewed pleasure of walking the dog without a coat.
Not bad, you might think.
How was this depicted on the front page of our newspapers? Cue for warnings of drought in summer, dire consequences for gardens and huge photos of fires on Ashdown Forest. Such fires are dangerous and, infuriatingly, frequently caused by carelessness or worse. But photos of people enjoying the balmy weather? Of course not!
Inevitably, Nature took back control yesterday as we met old friends and their two lurchers for a dog walk on the Cuckmere meanders. The rain bucketed down as we slogged along with filthy but ecstatic dogs.
In the way of life down here though, our walk ended in the car park of a lovely old Sussex Downs pub where they sensibly provide a hose by the rear door. A wrestling match involving our dog, two huge towels and my husband transformed Figgy into a reasonably clean furry mountain, albeit smelling like a damp rug. Clearly he felt the struggle was worth it as he paraded, head high, with the humans into the pub for lunch and all the affectionate fussing that invariably greets him in such places.
Will tomorrow’s papers carry stories of a “washout spring”?
We will keep a sensible look out now for any cold snap. The “Beast from the East” caused many bee losses last year. Our girls are our foraging the spring flowers and I managed a somewhat blurry photo of one on a snowdrop. The Cerinthe in the cutting garden is a big draw, its common name is Honeywort.
Time to take a deep breath and turn on the hose
Isn’t he sweet, someone will say….
Fuzzy bee