Roses. In May?

Our pre-occupation with the weather continues. April, we are told, was the driest for 350 years - ie. since the first records were kept. Easter Saturday was the hottest April day ever (I know. I was the Pork Provisioner at Market that day!).

Here in Lincolnshire, according to the chap who delivers our animal feed, only 0.4mm of rain fell in the month. Added to that, a keen Easterly wind has been blowing for the past couple of weeks - the net result of which is ground baked hard and crops well behind where they should be at this time of year. Were these conditions to prevail for too much longer, a farmer remarked on the local news this evening, corn could be an extremely scarce commodity this year! (Rocketing feed prices - again). This photo taken of a neighbouring field this afternoon bears more resemblance to desert than Lincolnshire's lush acres.....

But there's good news too. The hammock is out in the orchard. It's been shut away for a few years since it has a habit of causing rain to fall within a day or two of it being hung! Then there are the new photovoltaic panels on the roof - installed at the start of this unseasonably sunny spell ---- The Big Boss and I are more than delighted to see endless cloud-free days! And the roses are coming into bloom already - almost a month ahead of their time I'd say. On the down side, I did have to whitewash the greenhouse this afternoon to prevent the tender plantlets shrivelling under too much sunshine! And I have to restrict The Horses' galloping since all the tracks are as hard as the roads; Rocco finds that a nuisance but Ritz, at the grand old age of 28, should be relieved to have a valid excuse to ease off a bit!

And we finally put the New Romantic boys out in their field pen yesterday - and, boy, are they pleased to bask in the sun (after sneaking under the fence to visit Mum and Dad!!!) after weeks of being incarcerated in the stalls! Happy Days.....