This little Robin is hungry today

I wanted snow two months ago for Christmas, not now when spring is on the way and I want to be doing things in the garden.

Wonder how the frogspawn is faring under all that ice and snow.

And the weather forecast for tomorrow and Thursday is for more snow and blizzards and getting colder.

Hope it's all gone by next Wednesday when they are meant to be coming to put my fence up on the new bit of garden, really need to start working out there.

There is still ice on the bath with the frogspawn in, the frogs always lay it just before we have a cold spell. When I step out of my kitchen door there is a blast from the arctic blowing round the corner, but go through the arch into another world. I'm sitting on my chair in the sun, ok I still have my jumper and body warmer on and my feet are encased in my Toggi boots, but my legs are burning in my black jeans.

I did get the shredder out ready to shred the willow I cut down a month or so ago, but it's so peaceful sitting here listening to the birds singining with my dog at my side. There are sparrows flitting here and there in rowdy swoops, a starling throwing his weight about keeping them from the feeder. A chaffinch sneaks in surrepticiously while the starling is concentrating on the sparrows. And then quiet , everyone is gone except the starling on the feeder. A cheeky little bluetit stops by to peck a few insects from the tree.

I really should be doing the shredding but it's such a shame to shatter the peace, I think I'll just sit here with my book and pretend summer is here😁.

I wonder if it's too early to get the 🍷 out?

"Come on Mum, it's a lovely day outside"

Spring is here at last in the front garden.

But in the back garden winter has returned, frost on the pile of weeds I pulled up yesterday.

Ice on the water, an inch thick on the bath with the frogspawn in.

Not the day to sit on the doorstep and play the game of ladybirds and aphids, (noughts and crosses), I made by painting pebbles from the beach.

Cassidys big adventure

Was feeling a bit sorry for myself yesterday. The sun was shining and although it was bitterly cold I wanted to be out in the garden doing something. Instead I was huddled round the fire nursing a cold. 

As usually happens when you light the fire there comes a time when you have to venture outside to fill the coal scuttle, and look who was hiding in the coal bunker.

He , or she, was quite lethargic and was quite happy to be photographed. Usually they disappear before I have time to get a camera. I had quite a job to convince him to move so I could actually shovel some coal into the scuttle. 

Then I noticed something wrong. His front leg is broken😢. If you look at the picture closely you can see a white blob, its the bone sticking through the skin, and when he was persuaded to move the forearm was dragging, held on by a flap of skin.

So what to do with an injured frog who probably started life as one of the tadpoles in my garden? 

Top marks to my local vet, Priory vet group in Cardigan. I phoned them up to see if there was a rescue for injured amphibians anywhere locally and they said to pop it in a box and bring it in. So Cassidy, named after Hopalong Cassidy ,hero of one of my favourite childhood television programs, was duly popped in a box and taken to the vet. 

The wound turned out to be an old one which had healed up nicely and as Cassidy was nice and fat so obviously managing to eat properly he was popped back in the box for the return bus journey back to the coal bunker. 

He hopped out a bit more enthusiastically than he hopped in😂.

I'd love to know how he got such a horrible injury.

Well, the snow didn't last long, not even a complete day😢.

But yesterday I noticed the first lot of frogspawn in the bath. Not as much as usual, but maybe more will follow.

This was my garden this morning.

No sitting in my chair with my coffee today.

Don't think my fence will be put up today either.