Unsettled Easter ahead

Easter weekend is almost on us and it looks as if it is going to be very unsettled so far as the weather is concerned. A shame for visitors to the West Country to be sure. Whilst the worst of the snow has been "up north" in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Dartmoor also saw some with Princetown waking up to about two inches of it yesterday morning. From near the top of the hill that leads south from our village one can see across to the western flank of Dartmoor and from that viewpoint this afternoon I couldn't see any snow still lying. It's possible though that snow remains further into the moor.

The unusually cold winter certainly put a check on nature, but now it seems to be catching up. We are well and truly into the "yellow season" with daffodils, lesser celandine and forsythia well out. Good to see plenty of wood anemones in bloom as well, these do very well in the local wooded banks of the Tamar. Talking of the Tamar, that river was flowing quite high and fast a couple of days ago. I don't know where they nest but kingfishers do get seen in the area close to the weir which is not many minutes walk from here. The River Tamar is liable to rise and fall markedly over a short period of time and the thought crosses my mind: do the kingfishers nest high enough not to be flooded. I imagine they have it worked out!

End of month, my cold gone, spring coming

Well hear we are then, the last day of February and the cold I've been plagued with for the last few days nearly gone. This is getting into the good time of year for me with noticeably longer days and although hardly tropical there is the sense that any further cold spells shouldn't be prolonged. Apart from the snowdrops which have been excellent in my locality this year other flowers have understandably been reluctant to get going. This valley was famous for the cultivation of daffodils and many of the fields have been abandoned but the daffodils still come up and are an amazing sight but mostly not quite yet. There are wild daffodils too if you know where to look and there will be swathes of wood anemone to come in certain places near the river. The south west is even more special in spring!

Overnight snow in Devon

No snow here in my part of the Tamar Valley but belts of showers crossing the south west last night have dumped some more of the white stuff over parts of Devon with the north and east of the county particularly affected. Mainly bright in my part of the world earlier and during the second half of the morning I walked up to a vantage point high above the village where it's possible to see most of Dartmoor's western scarp and the snow up on the moor was very evident. I returned home the quick way by the main road that descends rapidly back into the village. Part way down there is a grassy bank that catches the sun well and it was pleasing to see a good number of lesser celandines there and a number of daffodils on the way to flowering. The huge variety of cultivated daffs hereabouts means that they don't all come at once, a situation helped by the different micro- climates prevalent in the mid Tamar Valley.

Another couple of weeks and the daffodils will hopefully be at their best.

Daffodils out at Cotehele

Although I ignore the festivities of New Year's Eve it is a bit special somehow to go for a walk on New Year's Day. A quick note here about fireworks: there seemed to have been fewer let off in the village this year and by a quarter past midnight silence again reigned supreme, or at least I didn't hear any further unrequested noise! As usual on the TV news they showed the huge displays in Sydney, London and Edinburgh. Regarding the last mentioned venue I have a feeling the show had to be cancelled there last time because of potential high winds, no problem this year with the anticyclonic weather that's persisting although I imagine it was quite cold.

So to New Year's Day. Equipped with flask and picnics we set out on an easy much loved walk to Cotehele. One of the great plus points about the Tamar Valley is that one can arrange routes away from the hurly-burly of heavy traffic. In fact for us traffic is a massive quality of life issue. This particular walk through quiet lanes and on country paths feels like a throwback to an earlier less hurried time and is always a pleasure. Arriving at Cotehele we had a quick look to see if any snowdrops were in flower. Not yet. However we were more than compensated by the sight of a forsythia fully out (!) and what my more knowledgeable friend told me was a witch hazel tree. However the real icing on the cake was seeing a clump of daffodils in flower! All very good to see.

The Tamar Valley is extremely variable in climate and where we live is in a frost hollow. We normally expect the gardens at Cotehele to be ahead of us but even so the daffodils came as something of a pleasant shock.

As to be expected we came across quite a lot of winter heliotrope during the course of our ramble. I've seen it out for some time actually - I'm pretty sure that it is an introduced species, it is quite vigorous and where it gets a hold seems to swamp everything else. In all honesty I never think of it as the most beautiful plant on the planet but welcome the sight of its flowers nevertheless as an indicator of the seasons moving along.

There had been several days here with really bright sun but New Years Day wasn't one of them. However the weather was quiet and dry so one shouldn't complain. A friend nearby told me this morning that it was cold on Dartmoor where she walked yesterday, I can very well believe that. Another big positive of our walk to Cotehele was the fact that my friend brought some of her homemade carrot cake. Yum yum! And we also met up with a couple we hardly knew who hospitably invited us into their home for a cup of tea!

A day of simple but rewarding pleasures.

Daffodil walk delights

Following on from my last entry and with the dry weather still holding on I was pleased to show three good friends (and two canine companions) the daffodil valley I had previously mentioned. My friends were delighted and amazed by the spectacle the flowers presented. It was a fine time to visit as there were still a goodly number of snowdrops out as well. There are a number of varieties of daffodil here and their flowering will be spread over the weeks to come. All to the good as this could be an excuse to visit again. In this valley one sees the remnants of packing sheds in various states of repair which were used by the helpers for bunching up the flowers. The valley has so many echoes of the way life was in the area and not so long ago either.

We were all well pleased with our visit to this really special place.

Good to see some frost

One thing that can truly be said of our British weather is that there is always scope for plenty of variability and such is the case recently. After a very wet and mild January one could have been led into thinking that we would be stuck with the same in February. To the relief of many I guess this has proved not to be the case. Last night was another frosty one but it has now being followed by yet more bright sunshine.

So what are the plusses regarding plummeting nightime temperatures? Well for a start it's been good to get the chance to see the stars in all their glory; I'm lucky here that the light pollution isn't too bad so that observing the heavens is a practical proposition. I have to say that I'm in awe of the stars and all of nature's wonders. On a practical note perhaps a few sharp frosts will reduce some of the unpleasant nasties in our gardens; certainly the mild wet winters of late have assisted the burgeoning slug population. Will the frosts inhibit the development of the midges that have been spreading the awful bluetongue disease? I believe that a vaccine against bluetongue is very close to coming to market and it's just possible that we might be able to stop it in its tracks this summer and not endure the sort of apalling losses they had last year on mainland Europe.

News on the radio traffic report this morning of some road traffic accidents possibly caused in part by the frost. A problem here in the southwest is the fact that our narrow highways with their deep banks may not see the sun for most of the day with the consequence that isolated slippery conditions persist. To compound the situation there are many instances of streams spilling out from fields thereby causing localised icy patches. It is this sudden change in circumstances as you are driving that has such a potential for accidents to occur.

Yesterday I had a decent walk in a hidden valley not too far away where once market gardening held sway. One of the popular 'crops' were daffodils in the Spring. The steep slopes on which they were cultivated have reverted to scrub and woodland but happily the daffs come up every year. Presumably because January was mild and wet the flowers are very advanced this year. Although not quite at their peak there are already plenty to see and what a delight they are. At present there are still a good number of snowdrops still in flower so it made for a breathtaking spectacle. I hope to show off these daffodils to a couple of friends in the village shortly, I've talked up this daffodil walk to them and trust they won't be disappointed!

Signs of Spring on the way

Yesterday morning there was a brief respite from the perpetual dampness that seems to afflict the Tamar Valley at this time of year. Needing a variety of vegetables and some free range eggs I went walkabout to a roadside stall just short of Calstock. This easy stroll of about 4 miles in total is off the main road; one sees the occasional vehicle but not enough traffic to spoil things. Apart from the benefit of exercise and fresh air it was a good chance to see what signs there were of the local flora coming into flower.

There were a few celandines out although not the first of the year by any means, they seem to be plentiful in this area but it wont be till next month that we will see carpets of them I guess. One or two examples of red campion, herb robert and hogweed were on display but what I particularly wanted to note was the progress of the crocuses in Calstock's churchyard which I pass en route. A small number of them were just starting to show yellow, when they all come out it is quite something to see. Just outside the south wall of the churchyard is an early spot for violets, some of these were in flower but I had seen these on an earlier walk.

The Tamar Valley was justifiably famous for its daffodils but many of the fields on their steep slopes are now abandoned. Although this land has reverted to scrub and woodland the daffodils pop up each spring. Too early for the varieties here to be in flower but certainly there are many bulbs above ground now. Providing we avoid a long cold snap then come March we should see those wonderful sheets of gold that makes this area even more special.

Every season can offer something but it's the renewal of life in spring that I think gives something extra to that time of year.