Thursday 31 March 2011

March 2011

March seems to me to be the month when the Earth awakens after a Winter-long sleep. The spring bulbs bloom, the hedgerows blossom, the trees begin to leaf and the birds, butterflies and other insects are suddenly very busy. It has also seemed a busy month on the home front - first there were pancakes (and yummy chocolate sauce), I started my Florida scrapbook (spent a fortune in Hobbycraft!), watched the "super" moon in the night sky (also watched "The Wonders of the Universe" on television - brilliant series), spent time in the garden pruning the shrubs and sowing vegetable and flower seeds (it was so hot in the garden I had my shorts on in March!) and I have also started taking long daily walks as part of my keep fit regime (or should that be get fit!!).

Most days towards the end of the month have been sunny and the blackthorn blossom has been brightening the hedgerows around the village. The Wild Cherry Plum beside our garden has now blanketed the ground in "spring snow". The Pussy Willow is also in flower and adding a yellow hue to the hedges. The banks under the hedgerows are full of Primroses and also Purple and White Violets.
The village pond is absolutely full of Frog-spawn and Tadpoles in various stages of development.
Late Saturday afternoon the sun was masked by rain-laden clouds and overnight we had a good shower of rain.
On Saturday's walk I accidentally spooked this Rabbit, who dashed to the other side of the fence and then sat watching me.
I also watched this Grey Squirrel who didn't seem at all perturbed by my presence.
And finally, on the 27th of March it was National Census Day 2011.
Not a lot had changed in the past ten years, except that Fay is now an adult and working. Now that my children are teenagers I asked them for their input - it was very interesting to hear their answers. To celebrate the 2011 Census, Ancestry opened up their records for free and I spent several hours researching some more of my family tree. So far I have traced one branch of my family tree back as far as 1791 and I have sent away for some marriage and birth certificates to gain more information.

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