Mild days led up to the weekend, varied amounts of broken cloud, some sunshine and temps around 14 C.
Around the garden the May blossom is developing on the Hawthorn. The flowers start opening from the base of the canopy and gradually bloom towards the top. The top of the tree at around 9 metres is exposed to the prevailing south-easterly winds which holds back the developing leaves and flowers.
The Magpie nest in the top of it is still occupied, the adults make occasional flights on foraging trips or to perch on a nearby rooftop.
The body of a dead Blackbird chick was found by a resident in a garden at the end of the road. This may have been the work of a Magpie or one of the nine Crows I have seen in the area.
The 'John Downie' Crab Apple is in full flower, the white blossom of this and the Hawthorn combined with the green of the Box Buxus sempervirens and other leafy shrubs give the garden a cool feel. Colour is provided by pots of flowering Violas.
The Pond plants are filling out with the Water Forget-me-not Mysotis scorpioides showing the first colour of it's blue flowers. The Flag Iris leaves are about two feet high, the flower spikes are not visible yet.
The submerged Water Soldier Stratiotes aloides is coming to attention by rising to the surface from it's winter dormancy and spreading out it's arms of juvenile offsets.
