Out of hibernation!

Hello again HHgold I wont like as start and middle of your blog was very sad .

But then again as you started to share you garden again it was lovely to here abought your garden again but sad re the stoat again.

Good to here from you again.

Hi H, good to hear from you again. Lots of sympathy about your poor eaten plants and the disappointment about the non appearing bulbs. But then you do have the beautiful peacocks to look at and it will soon be display time if i remember correctly! It sounds as though there has been a general upheaval and sadness in the family - its good to hear that your grandson seems to be coping well, as the effect on little ones can be such a worry.
I hope everything turns out well in the end.

Thank you so much Scotkat and Steragram for ploughing your way through to the end - little and more often should be my motto really, in writing as well as gardening.
As mentioned in the blog I did get out and do some gardening, nothing interesting like planting, but cutting down the fallen roses! So little and often applies to that as well as my back now knows that a winter of doing little doesn't help.
As you say Scotkat it's sad about the stoat and especially when I spent at least an hour one day watching the young ones playing on the wood pile on the meadow. So it's not as if I didn't know they were there, just underestimated their ability to get into places. They are so adorable to watch but lethal as a predator - but everything has to live after all, just not on my G.F.
The peacocks are indeed starting to display as you say Steragram, we have no females so it's the chickens that get the full attention and display - not with much respect or appreciation from them sadly. What with the foxes about here it a bit dicey to think about having a peahen and with four boys, would we need four or does the oldest peacock get the girl if we had one?

Don't know about the oldest one. Might be the strongest or the one with the best tail??

Hello Honeysuckle - yes life can throw some punches - but a little gardening helps when one needs to lose oneself away from all the problems - but nature can be very cruel - the sparrow hawk has been by here and taken a blackbird which is so sad - I wish he would be satisfied with sunflower hearts and sultanas like all the other birds - my plants get trimmed back by birds especially the primulas - I have bought a lovely pale yellow double one - I am keeping that one under cover on the utility windowsill - where it is cool and protected - are you going to post a pic of your peacock I hope so - enjoy your day - Jane

Hello again Honey, it seems you 've had a lot going on with the care of your grandson during all the upheaval in his life, very sad when couples breakup but you can only do what you have been doing and that is to give them support, children do bounce back and as you say its not good for them to have the bickering going on around them, xmas must have been hard for all concerned with the loss of his grandad, it seems your house is becoming home from home with him and I know from experience what that is like and the joy you will get from those hours spent with him.
Sorry to hear about the stoats I like you would love to see them playing, obviously nothing like that around here, I know its natural for them to seek out food but not nice for you when you went to feed the G.Fowl, are the rest of your livestock safe?
Its grand to wander and see the spring flowers and the blossom appearing, as to actual gardening I think most of us still have the untidy look about them but we will all get there eventually, at the moment its a case of doing a bit on the days when its not wet and one can get onto the beds and borders to do our trimming and pruning without sinking in and cause damage or getting ourselves in a muddy state, I have only sown ornamental grass seeds as yet but know I am getting a new propagator tomorrow so my toms will go in soon.
I enjoyed reading your blog and seeing your photo's Honey and its good to see you back, I too would love to see the peacocks, lol.....

You're probably right Steragram about the one with the most impressive tail getting the girl. Peter, who is the oldest and Father of the other three is still in charge at the moment but there is one which tries to muscle in on the first shout of the cake which doled out at dusk - snack before bedtime. It used to be just the peacocks who got cake (home-made light fruit cake) at bedtime, but OH has now stretched it to the two Guinea Fowl who start cackling around the house as soon as it gets dusk, if they get no response from one door, they proceed to the living room window and then to the front door, if still no response it's back again until you go out. He has also started giving the four Call ducks cake as he shuts them in. Yesterday I only had bread (for Boris) and one duck kept picking it up and throwing it down again in disgust - fussy little beasts!
I agree with you Jane, a bit of gardening makes you forget most troubles, as well as the time, you can lose yourself quite happily just pulling up some weeds! We too have a visiting Sparrowhawk, usually the female, but ocassionally the male who scatters all the little birds into hiding. They usually prey on the wood pigeons and as we have so many of those I would rather they thinned those out than got the little Tits and Chaffinches.
Thanks Lincslass for your condolences, Grandson is bouncing along nicely but now he is at school is picking up all sorts of mannerisms you would rather he didn't - don't they all!
The stoats have I think decamped into the heap of spoil/brick/clay that came from the extension and is dumped at the top of the field. It has shrubs, bulbs and sundry plants growing on it but with the rubble underneath probably makes a wonderful home for small animals. If they stay up there and thin out the rabbit population - they can stay. If they decide to raid the chicken run for eggs, I might not be so happy to see them. The GF roost up in the barn with the peacocks so are well out of reach.
Lovely day yesterday, today more rain and everything is soggy underfoot!

Welcome back ! :)

Thanks Hywel, I'll try to keep up with all the blogs and questions now. I do miss them it's always so interesting to see what problems other people have and the answers they get to them. Then there's all the lovely photo's for inspiration!
That's all it's going to be today, inspiration, more rain, tonight more frost, then more rain and wind - then.. they tell it is going to warm up!!!

Yes, roll on spring !