Mole City!

We have just come back from a whirlwind trip down South - both at the same time for once! Our friends Richard and Judith were brilliant hosts, not only tolerating our comings and goings but also opening their home for an 'open house' evening on Tuesday when we were able to catch up with a number of old friends. We spent the week-end in Winchester and managed to take Bethan and Toby to the zoo for the day without losing them to the lions, allowing Tim and Ruth to dig out two ponds from their garden - something of a hazard with two small children! We have brought back another fruit cage from their garden which I was unable to persuade them to keep - despite Bethans appetite for raspberries, so now need to re-plan the veg growing area to incorporate it.
After spending Wednesday night with Daniel and Julie in Oxford we headed back North to find that the snow at ground level had all but disappeared. The parking area at the back of the house seemed enormous, having been under snow for so long and having got used to walking through a narrow dug out path. The full effect of the damage that the moles have done is now exposed and hopefully Pete will be able to come and deal with them soon. The grass everywhere is very brown after three months under snow but we have had beautiful spring weather since we came back so I am optimistic that it will soon 'green up' again.

It is amazing the difference a few days make. We now have an abundance of snowdrops and crocuses and the daffodils are comparable in height to those in the south so presumably had been quietly growing away under the snow - amazing!!

The builders are not now going to start until after Easter which gives us a little more breathing space, especially as I am coming back down to Sutton on Wednesday to work and not returning until Good Friday. We still don't have another house to move into but there are a couple of possibilities in the pipeline and hopefully something will be confirmed this week. I have been accepted for bank work at Raigmore NNU so just have to wait for all the paperwork to be completed and hopefully will start getting some work up here

True to form, as we came back, Sarah headed South - she will be back for a few hours before I leave again! She has passed her first test as gardeners apprentice and looked after my seedlings while I was away - what she doesn't yet know is that there are three times as many now growing fast!! It is easy to get lulled into a false sense of security given a few sunny days but checking the forecast for while I am away there are temperatures at night well below freezing still so it won't do to get too complacent with the seedlings.