There was very little sign of winter until a couple of weeks ago when we got a covering of snow - only about 2 cms. Enough to look pretty for a while.
The temperatures went down to -12C for a couple of nights. The following week the temperatures were up again to +12C during the daytime. Last week they reached a balmy high of 16C - very unusual for February.
These extremes are having an interesting effect on the wildlife. Two hares have been cavorting round the garden in "Mad March Hare" style, or should it be "Mad February Hare" style? Mr Pheasant has been harassing the Mrs, showing off his beautiful colours and chasing her around the lawn. There were badgers out and about on the roads last night when I was driving home, sadly one of them had been hit by a car :(
I have never understood why, but in February we seem to get larger numbers of roe deer in the garden. A few weeks ago, I counted six of them. It's a pity that I could only capture three of them in this photo.
A large flock of redwings also passed through. There must have been at least two dozen of them. On the same day, I spotted some Lapwings in the field at the front. They did not come into the garden but it is the first time I have seen them around here. Too far away for a good photo, unfortunately.
Finally, I have been working very hard on my new web site. My English Country Garden web site (www.english-country-garden.com) is looking a bit old fashioned and in need of a refresh. I have been rebuilding the site with a new design including some new photo galleries. It is proving to be a big job. The web site has more than 500 pages and it is a lot of work to transfer all of them to the new design. It will not be completed for some weeks yet but watch this space for the relaunch!
