Daisies! (two) - Spring!

Both nesting boxes have sparrows going in and out.

The plan was when DH made them about 5 yrs ago to hopefully watch a family of tits use one. Neither has ever had eggs in [frown]

Oops meant

The hill ridge across the loch is almost mauve with the early evening light falling on the snow.

nina, we have sparrow squatters as well – in housemartin nests! On the one hand it's encouraging that the local house sparrow population seems to be growing (we saw no sparrows here for the first few years), and on the other hand it's a bit worrying because they might frighten the house martins off. We 'lost' our eight pairs plus offspring on house martins the year of the Icelandic ash cloud. Last year, one pair occupied a nest. Fingers crossed for this year.

nina I though the [frown] emoticon very apt.

First primrose open, but the daffs are still reluctant! [primrose]

And a lesser celandine.

I've got three pretty lesser celandine flowers today. If the sun stays on my garden, I'll have lots tomorrow - what a treat to have yellow flowers starting to open out

Primroses and duffs, plus a flowering currant. Also one very stupid apricot
I tell its too early! It'll get frostbite and there are no pollinators around !

Saw a bluetit come out of the nesting box this morning. Then a pied wagtail on the lawn. I've seen them elsewhere before but never in the garden.

Word is being passed around about your tasty bird-buffet. Obviously a very good place to be!

The robin is very fond of manchego cheese

Not a daffodil in my garden yet. Some well past their best Snowdrops. Some crocus. Not a lot else. The bottom of the garden rarely gets any sun though.

I want my Pulsatilla and the Fritillaries to come up. I have never known them this late.

One of my friends at uni bribed a robin into her room in our hall of residence with bits of cheese, galen. It could come and go at will but always came for some cheese at certain times.

DH says robins will sell their souls for mealworms

Sparrows and chaffinches are also partial to cheese it would seem. I chop up the rind and chuck it out the back door - all gone in a flash.

Cheese – high fat, high protein, high energy food: just what little birds need.

a few primroses open in this neck of woods but looking very hesitant. Coltsfoot out and looking quite confident. There was one warm day a few weeks back when i saw a couple of butterflies. But not even a single foraging bumble queen have I espied. And they are often out on warm winter days checking out nest sites and feeding on winter flowering things.

Just looked at the jet stream forecast!
Hooray[sun] it's moving north in the next two weeks[sun]

even

for

That's good. Nature getting a bit desperate. Not a single celandine and very little for any creatures to eat.
In the meantime we have a howling easterly, and again tomorrow, as cold, and higher wind speeds than of late. Frogs, hedgehogs, bees, blackthorn and celandines staying hunkered down.

And me brrrr[

I sat in an open doorway facing the westering sun this afternoon to drink my coffee. Pushed my sleeves up in the hope of some vitamin D manufacture. Official highest temp today 8.9° but a lot warmer in direct sun. Two coaltits looking for a place to nest in the dry stone wall ahead of me. Great-tits scrabbling about under the bathroom roof slates, as usual. Starlings nesting, and making a right mess below (also as usual), under the eaves on the south east face. Me mowing and scratching up dry dead grass on the front terrace. Hedgehog on the lane yesterday evening. I think we have spring where I am

PS one celandine, one primrose, one daffodil, three crocuses, snowdrops on their way out.

And more snow melt off the hills each day.

A glance out of the window showed me that the loch is the same colour as the sky at the moment – a lovely pale blue. The water must be very still to be reflecting so truly.

Sounds beautiful bags - still blooming perishing here and not a lot blooming other than tete a tete mini daffs and crocus.
Blackthorn and all the leaves on everything still cowering inside buds under the onslaught of easterlies and frost. But the winds are dropping and shifting over the weekend.