The First Daffodils, Frog Spawn, Not So Fantastic Mr Fox

At last we have daffodils in flower...they have been such a long time opening, but well worth the wait. Today has been so much warmer, despite a frosty morning again, and the blackbirds are starting to sing. An even more significant sign of spring is the mass of frog-spawn that I found this afternoon down in a pool on the side of the small river  at the bottom of our wood. The Farmer tells me that he has also seen some up in the top pond.

Elder Son has started on the spring ploughing, preapring one of our top fields for a new ley of grass. Having got the muck out, he will be busy with much field work for some time now. He enjoys ploughing and there is great satisfaction in seeing a field turn from its dull and faded winter green to a rich chocolatey brown corduroyed expanse.

Younger Son rang us this morning from New Zealand and was telling of a riding trip he and some friends made up in the mountains near Wannaka, I think. They had hired some horses and had gone trekking through marvellous and spectacularly beautiful countryside
I was very surprised to hear that he had gone riding; this is a boy who thought the only means of transport worth considering had to have an internal combustion engine, a steering wheel and was preferably made by John Deere. I hope he has taken some good photographs!

Last night one of KTs' hens was taken by a fox. It was one that had been laying outside the electric fence and presumably had not managed to get back to the flock in time. Despite the fence a couple of the hens have learned to fly over and have made nests in secret corners rather than laying in the nest boxes provided...a hen with a streak of independence is a determined and foolish creature and must just take the consequences of her actions I fear. Lets hope the fox does not think he has a supply of easily obtainable ready-meals. War will be waged.