ICE IN SPRING

I promised photos of blossom. Well, in my garden the Cherry blossom has been and gone, but here are a couple of the many photos I took for you back in March.

  

Other blossom appeared in April: the Pear tree made a lovely showing, but one of the late frosts which have plagued us destroyed all hope of any fruit. 

The larger of our two Apple trees is blooming now for the first time, and seems to be holding its own despite the cold. 

One other major event has taken place in the garden: at last the new shed has arrived and been built. After a nine month wait, you can imagine our excitement (well, some of us more than others), and with it came the opportunity to improve the path which runs along the side of the greenhouse to said shed. The work was carried out with skill and cheerfulness by a local firm, and has made a massive improvement to the shed/greenhouse area. A bonus is another, albeit small area where we can sit out – when the sun shines!

I was well into writing the third book in the ‘Losing Time’ series, until my vaccinations caused my inspiration to dry up. This has been incredibly frustrating. Only now am I beginning to put together the next stage of the plot in my mind, and I hope soon to be able to make some sense of the ideas and get them recorded. I have introduced some interesting new characters, as well as revealing the not-so-enchanting side of someone who we all thought was 'on our side' in the previous book. It all makes for enjoyable and sometimes challenging writing!

The unseasonal weather has delayed many things in the garden: plants and trees are well behind, as is progress in the greenhouse. However there have been some little moments of joy, and I leave you with these and the hope that all is going well with you despite the challenges which have been heaped upon us recently. We are a tough species, and working our way through the lockdown loneliness and depressing Winter/Spring has not been easy. Look after yourselves!