Sunshine.

It has been sunshine all the way today and has felt very spring like. Sitting outside and watching the waves first thing I suddenly realised the bird flying past was a sparrow hawk. I see one occasionally but they are not my favourite as they raid the nests of smaller birds.

I was in town just after 9.00 this morning, few cars and not many people around. I like seeing the students displaying their new found independence by their choice of clothing as they stream to and from the uni which is right as the top of the hill. This morning it was mainly the active crowd in sports kit, some of them even running.

The reason for my extra journey to town was that yesterday in Charlie's I'd been looking at ceramic fibre (clay + fibreglass?) planters which they were advertising as being 'on sale' but really it was more of a promotion. With the porch being a possibility (I don't take builders for granted) I checked out the shapes, sizes and colours to find something that would look good in the porch. I wasn't 100% sure so went home to think about it, thought about it and decided to go back this morning with some measurements and a photo of the front door on my phone. I looked hard at some cube shaped planters in grey but decided against them in the end. But I did buy this very large hemispherical planter for the front garden. Now comes the fun part of thinking about what to plant in it. It needs to be able to survive the local conditions, be low growing and have winter foliage. So far I'm tending towards thyme as my first choice of succulents wouldn't survive the winter.

With such nice weather what else could I do but work outside? I got out the pressure washer and cleaned the green film off the terrace, then went on to clean both sets of the steps and the coping stones around the raised beds. I ended up getting very wet and my back is twinging but the job is done for another year.

I also brought out the tender plants from their cold frame, which had broken in the latest winds anyway. I finished off with some general gardening and have sown some tomato seeds indoors.

Before going to work outdoors I got a pot of sauerkraut, cabbage, potato and sausage simmering on the stove which we will be having for supper tonight. And at least one more meal after that.