Full Metal Wheelbarrow

 

This weekend we pootled down to see my Mum - we seem to have picked the right two days of the Easter weekend to travel as the whole journey was relatively painless. Mum has a painful knee and a sore leg at the moment as well as her ongoing COPD, but she's still trying to keep moving about as much as possible to avoid more blood clots. 

 

She seemed really pleased to see us and was showing off the new brick wall with integral brick planters which my sister's partner has recently built for her

 

Rob was planning a long ride on Monday but it rained like a rainy thing all day. Fortunately, his firm gave everybody Tuesday off as well, so he went out today instead.

 

When not at work or out riding, he's having fun watching the birds on the feeders - he's been buying live mealworms for the robin, who has quickly learned that human going outside = more mealworms in the feeder and tends to appear rapidly once Rob's back indoors.  The blackbirds enjoy mealworms too, but don't seem to like the special robin feeder, so i've been putting some dried ones for them on the flat tray section of the feeding station. today the female was gathering great clumps of them in her beak and flying away with them, so I think there may be baby blackbirds being fed nearby :)

 

The goldfinches are regular visitors, seeming to enjoy both the niger seeds and the sunflower seeds and today a couple of long-tailed tits popped in for a desultory peck at the fatballs.

Seedlings have begun appearing at the allotment - lollo rosso, carrots and brussel sprouts so far, No sign of the rudbeckias or asparagus, but it's early days yet