Seasonal Changes.....by Luis

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After what it felt like a very short Winter but much colder and with more ground frosts than last year, we had some very nice weather which has caused many wild flowers to come into blossom such as the hepaticas, aconites and heliborres. It has been very nice with hot sunny days that felt much like Spring. We have now made a start on the patio base and steps that lead down from the house. We are proud of the brick work (Bob S. and Terry M. would be proud of their pupils!) . Not like the ones in the picture below which me made for Gawber and Wentworth to go up onto the shed roof. What a nice vantage point for them.

The veggie plot starts showing signs of new life with seedlings of carrots, spring onion, spinach, lambs lettuce and radishes. We are still continuing to harvest two types of lettuce, leaks, cabbage and early sprouting purple broccoli just starting to crop. The potatoes are in but showing no signs of life. In this area most of the locals follow the phases of the moon as a planting guide that we do not always follow. One of our friends in the village, Manolo, has helped me to graft a wild cherry tree in the garden with some dark juicy cherries - an old variety. We now have horses in the bottom field and calves nearby, nice sound of bells in the morning to accompany the early morning chorus - lovely.We recently went otter spotting in the river Piloña at Arriondas. It was an interesting evening but not an otter in sight, better luck next time.