Unlike the preceding three to four weeks, when it was VERY cold and frosty but with blue skies and sunshine, the past week has been very wet and mild. The field beyond the paddock must now be very soggy indeed, as we keep seeing puddles in the grass which take some time to disappear. Maybe this is the reason we haven’t seen ‘our sheep’ for over a week now. During the summer months from May to October, the field is home to a herd of cows, who provide fascinating ‘moving scenery’, and we do miss them so much during the winter when the field lies empty. However last year the cows having only just departed , presumably to provide succulent steaks, puddings and pies, we were thrilled one morning to see that a small flock of sheep were now excitedly investigating their new surroundings. Though delighted to see them, we thought they were probably just staying for b.& b., as this has happened before ….. but they have remained here, causing me frequently to be heard singing ‘Sheep May Safely Graze’ , or ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ depending on my mood. As I have absolutely no idea at all of how to hold a tune, this doesn’t endear me to my long suffering husband…. but I can’t help myself.

Anyway, for this past week the cumbrous but cuddly-looking creatures are nowhere to be seen. We hope they have just been moved to dry land higher up the nearby hills, but fear they may now be lying in shrink-wrapped portions on supermarket shelves. So the landscape beyond the garden seems somewhat bereft, and we miss their daily diversions ….. but at least the singing has stopped!

In the gardens, back and front, all is damp and drear, and looks particularly messy as somehow I never got round to cutting back the dead plants at the end of last season (I left them for the birds, is my excuse). Still, we have noticed the green shoots of spring bulbs peeping up through the lawn, so it shouldn’t be too long before we see blessed colour in the garden again – I simply must get out there with the shears and secateurs. I was really uplifted to see daffodils beginning to bloom on the roundabout just outside a village close by …… but even these are very late as last winter they were already blooming by the end of December. No doubt the extremely low temperatures we have been ‘enjoying’ in recent weeks are to blame. It’s all down to Global Warming I suppose.