March. Phew.

The best that can be said for February is that it is mercifully short.  Often the month when we see most snow, this February was wet in diluvian measure, and windy in proportion.  We’ve had a few hail showers, but in general it has been unusually mild.  The grass has not really stopped growing this winter, but it is still far too wet to mow.  I squelched out this afternoon to do a spot of pruning and tidying up, and was rather nervous about losing my footing.

I now have the rota for my last few months at the hobby, and am grateful that I have only two more journeys to make to the county town.  I stand a fighting chance of getting home in daylight from both of them, which is a relief.  I’m starting to find a full day a bit tiring, and the drive home against oncoming headlights is not something I relish.  Even in good conditions last week, my outward journey took the best part of an hour and a half.  ‘Ad enuf of this.

Road conditions in general are going from dreadful to simply dire: where there aren’t roadworks, there ought to be: driving is a constant struggle to avoid the potholes.  We’d to drive into the outer London outskirts last Friday, and even the trunk roads are in an appalling state.

Still, the signs of spring are encouraging.  The camellia is in flower, and there are nice fat buds on the magnolias.  Lots of tulips are poking through the surface, and I think I see some fritillaries as well.  Although some of the early rhododendrons are flowering elsewhere in the neighbourhood, ours is not there yet.  Both plants have plenty of buds, and the hydrangeas are coming along nicely as well.  And the days are getting noticeably longer, thank goodness!