When all else fails

To paraphrase my American friend, if there's nothing else to talk about, the weather is always a good stand-by. We have been enjoying a dry spell and plenty of sunshine, with temperatures reaching the mid-teens Celsius (low 60s Fahrenheit) but unfortunately a brisk north-easterly has taken to edge off the warmth of the sun. The wind generally waits until the flowering cherry trees are in bloom but although the very early ones are out, the main blossom is still to come so perhaps we will have to put up with the wind for a while yet.

I seem to have recovered my energy, so there is a possibility that I will get into the garden this afternoon and mow the lawns for the first time this year. I did wander down to check out the vegetable patch yesterday and was pleased to see that most of the garlic is sprouting well, the new raspberry canes are showing, and the rhubarb being forced under a wastepaper basket is coming on with two sticks several inches long already. A few more days and we will have our first tender rhubarb of the year.