Go to the final entry on this page .....Go to previous entry1 April - The month started with a touch of frost first thing this morning - when I got up around 7am the caravan shelter roof was white. The temperature on just dipped enough to give that coating and there was no sign of ice on the birdbath and ponds. After yesterday's largely grey day the sunshine returned (along with some broken cloud) and helped the temperature up to around 12-13C this afternoon. I spent much of the afternoon out in the garden and while it felt very pleasant in the sunshine it was distinctly chilly in the shady corners.
3 April - Rain! - Yesterday was yet another sunny day with the temperature above 15C in the afternoon, good enough for us all to sit and play outside around a sand box with our grand-daughters, their mum and their friend. This morning was cooler, with lots of grey clouds about and with the temperature reaching 12C in the early afternoon we had a very welcome rain shower. It had only a small effect on the nearly empty main water butt (that supplies the big pond), but hopefully heavy rain forecast for tonight may be more helpful. As I write this at 5.30pm we are in the middle of a very heavy shower. Nothing to report on in the garden today, but yesterday afternoon I spotted our first Orange Tip butterfly of the year, and last night at around 8pm 'our' fox came trotting up the garden path. I don't know if he intended to leave via the driveway, but he stopped short of the gate, listened for a few moments, and then headed back down the garden. Although I haven't mentioned him lately, during the sunny weather I accidentally disturbed him several times. Unfortunately I didn't actually see him, but I think I've finally worked out where he has been sunbathing - on top of the Blue/Great Tit nestbox tower. These days the tower roof is a discreet spot, hidden from view by a mixture of Ivy, Honeysuckle and Bamboo.
5 April - With a hosepipe ban coming into effect today I suppose we could have expected a decent downpour to mark the moment, but instead we have had a dreary, overcast morning with just a hint of dampness. The temperature is also disappointing with it just 7C at 2pm. Yesterday was just a couple of degrees warmer, but with a couple of heavy rain showers during the afternoon.
7 April - Yesterday started with a frost - with the temperature down to -2C at 7am the bird bath was frozen over and quite a few plants had a white coating. During the morning, hazy sunshine lifted the temperature and in the early afternoon it tipped 12C briefly before clouds moved in. That cloud cover remained with us last night and this morning it was 8C before 8am. However, with the skies remaining grey the temperature struggled to pass 10C, only making it to 11C very briefly in the early afternoon, and there is a cold north-easterly breeze.
Apart from the bird activity mentioned in the nest box diary things have remained quiet in the garden over these last few days. However, this afternoon I noticed that a second Horsetail strobilus has emerged next to the one I recorded on 31 March. On that occasion I mentioned the curious structure of the spores that the strobilus produces. This afternoon I've taken the chance to take a look at these.
It just took a light tap for the stobilus to release a cloud of green spores that settled on a piece of glass.
My old botany textbook explains that the outer surface of each appendage is cuticularized (waterproofed) and so the rest of the surface will absorb moisture (hygroscopic). This results in them twisting and turning according to the level of moisture in the air, straightening when dry but curling when moist.
As is the case with many other non-flowering plants, horsetails undergo alternating asexual and sexual generations. The asexual phase culminates in the production of the spores in the strobilus. As soon as a spore reaches the ground it germinates and develops into a reproductive structure called a prothallus. On the prothalli male and female reproductive organs develop prior to the production of an oospere from which a new plant will develop.
10 April - The Easter weekend was marked by disappointing weather, with some dampness on the 8th followed by a thoroughly cold, wet day on the 9th. At least it means that the water butts and ponds are all full! Today has been mainly sunny although we almost had to abandon the sand box at lunchtime when a dark cloud dropped spots of rain, and a bit later, just after I had covered the sand we had a short sharp hail shower, much to the delight of our grand-daughters! I didn't get to photograph it, but my eldest grand-daughter and I saw our first honey bee of the year, complete with pollen on its hind legs. Also I saw what must be one of the first buds to burst on our Himalayan Birch tree.
11 April - A sunny morning, although quite chilly in the shade, with the temperature just over 10C at 11am. Yesterday the high was 11C.
I've had another look at the Birch this morning and the buds I saw open yesterday are still amongst the only signs of green on the tree so far. This branch tip hangs in a sun trap and possibly gets warmer than most other parts of the tree. While the buds are starting to burst I can also see the first of the male catkins to have been shed by the tree as the pollen season come towards its end for this particular tree.
As the day progressed there were more and more rain showers, a few quite heavy, but no hail today.
17 April - Just a brief entry this morning to account for the gap since the previous entry down to a very quiet period in the garden combined with an attack on my inner ear in the form of viral labyrinthitis which has hit my sense of balance and left me feeling decidedly seasick in my own home - something that never happens to me when on my kayak! It has meant no garden activities, no TV (perhaps not a bad thing), certainly no driving, and a lot of time spent with my head down. The worst thing about it is the effect it has on vision. Imagine that the view in front of you is painted onto a slinky spring, and every time you turn your head someone sends waves along the spring, sending the view bouncing from side to side (actually its your eyes moving) and you can do nothing to control it. And I'm sitting here with shades on, not something I normally need to do when at the computer. Anyway, it is starting to ease up now although things aren't likely to get back to normal until at least the end of the week. Since the last entry the weather has been largely dry, apart from the occasional April showers. We were supposed to have heavy rain this morning, but it turned out to be just light rain before breakfast time and we have bright sunshine between then and noon (and I need to keep the blinds closed!).
18 April - A largely wet, cold day with a high of just 10C - just the weather to accompany the extension of the drought restrictions to more counties of England, with the prospect of these being in force until Christmas!
I took advantage of a break in the rain to wander down the garden this afternoon and I spotted the first flower on a Red Campion this year. It looked fresh so I suspect that it had only opened this morning. Over the next few weeks these flowers will adorn much of the garden.
Another new flower on display is the White Dead-nettle. I think the first flowers on this plant actually opened either yesterday or even the 16th. I've had a a brief look around and can't see any other examples today. In the foreground is a Violet. These flowers can now be seen in most corners of the garden.
The colour yellow is well represented at the moment by the Lesser Celandines, Marsh Marigolds and the Dandelions (well appreciated by the solitary and Bumble Bees when they venture out during brighter spells).
Our two main trees are ringed by flowers at the moment, the Birch by Blue and White Bluebells, and the Rowan by Blue and Pink Forget-me-nots.
As for the tree themselves, while the foliage on the Rowan is now busy unfurling (and you can see some of the berries remaining from last year),
there remains very little sign of green on our Himalayan Birch despite the first buds bursting a week ago. That is in sharp contrast to our neighbour's Silver Birch which has almost complete leaf cover now.
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