Holiday time. The kit is ready to go but I await fairer weather before I depart. I have mounds of marking, a list of DIY jobs to do here and an unfinished painting. It’s time to get it done.

Hazel is showing off her pink lady-parts: yes it’s time for some garden innuendo, and there’s more where this came from.
In close-up, you can see what looks like pollen. In case you don’t know, the dangling catkin bit is male and distributes pollen, the female parts are extremely small as you can see here.
Good bike ride today, after a weak start- I blame last night’s alcohol for that. It wasn’t until after 40 miles that I really ‘found my legs’.

Domestic day, painting woodwork, fixing things and stuff. Put up the tent in the garden to check its condition. I was so close to going camping last night, but decided to stay and do essential home stuff. Soon though. Energy was bountiful for this, even though it’s the end of term soon. I credit sleeping habits- early nights and very early rises. The earliest was about 4.30 am
Compost news: the heap looks like real compost when I turned it over with a fork.
Can’t help feeling annoyed that my view of the sunset is now blocked by a new housing block that looks like a student halls of residence. In practice, sunset is now an hour earlier. Damn the planners.
Interesting news story: the Catholic Church has been protecting child-molesters from prosecution it seems. They have actively decided to keep secret accusations of child-abuse and not take any disciplinary action.
Laurel: I didn’t really like this Laurel, only because variegated plants don’t, somehow, appeal to me. But look at this fruit, instantly I have changed my mind.Note on the right, the flower- how unassuming.

Hazel: is hosting a guest.

I get home about an hour before sunset, just time to plant out some digitalis you’d think. Scoop out some holes and mix a bit of compost to enrich the soil, then clink. So here we go again, two more sub-terainian slabs. One of them is red. So the whole hour before dark (& supper) turns into an earthworking.
Never did get those plants in the ground.

I tried to post this review to ilovefilm but got the error message: "Error- must contain at least two words"

So that doesn’t count as ‘at least two words’ then.

Ouch; knee pain, though the knee buffeted in that crash last month, I suspect this is caused by the summer bike’s pedals.
more later
Rosie excelled herself today. She’s learned a new trick and played it at a carefully timed moment. When I was outside for a while, she struck. Somehow, and I’m still trying to work out how, she opened the oven door and got the food out. Her motive was very strong- a chicken that the lodger cooked 48 hours previously. Oh well, fair game then (no joke intended).My only concern was that in her greed, she’d get bone splinters in her throat; dogs do that I’m told. I pulled her away by the collar, which she resisted with all her 25kg might and did that cartoon rubberised-telescopic neck thing. That meant however far you pulled the collar, her mouth was still at chicken level on the tiled floor.
Suppose I would have done the same if I were a dog. I’m still impressed, thinking back.

Like last year– waking up absurdly early. Today, 5 am, out of bed by 10 past.
Unlike last year– spring is starting about 2 weeks later here. Some shoots peeking through.

Five-thirty; running out of steam now. I have been on the go for 12 hours today, lots of spring energy, lots of bulbs planted and these years of compost bin collections is showing results. I was like this last year, so nothing too weird then.
Bags of recycled organic compost for £2.25, so I bought a bunch. Doris, it’s true the stuff does smell nice; go and sniff some if you are doubtful.
Looking forward to a good cycle ride tomorrow, should be able to ride the summer bike.

It’s barren here: no sign of winter ending, everything is dry and bare. I did plant out the Laburnum tree however in the gap between home and the sun going down. Again, chose a spot that was shielded by a slab; how many more of these damned things are there under this soil. I should know, I have lived here for 13 years.

Is there something up with VW’s sensors? My car needed diagnostic tests to find why the emissions warning light up. It turned out to be nothing, probably the sensor is faulty causing the equivalent of a false positive.That’s the second time something like this has happened in 6 months. It’s no use, VW, using sensors that are less reliable than the thing they are testing for reliability.

I have deeds, this is a good thing on a symbolic level.

I have a working compost heap at last. Only took 3 hours digging to get it right. Last time, when I thought it was done, I found concrete slab underneath. I got that one out and found another beneath, to my surprise. Now it’s done, there is no real effort to run the thing. My little invertebrate labourers are kept warm with a cover and a few bags of horse manure, plus a full wheelie-bin of house-scraps to kick start the whole colony. Thanks to Ken Thompson for the encouragement.