Out and About

February seems to have gone almost before it arrived. Not actually done much around the house / garden - it's remained rather too cold to start planting anything - there are still no daffodils out yet (I'm sure that by St David's Day last year they were almost over!).

Been really busy at work though, was down in Cardiff one week, attending a conference at St Fagans: National History Museum.

The conference was good, but it was also really interesting getting to look round some of the buildings, and spotting the bits they'd used to film Dr Who episodes! It's definitely on the list for a return visit later this year for a proper look round.

This last week was up in North Wales for a couple of days - luckily the weather stayed nice for the most part, and I could admire the snowy views on the drive, without actually getting caught in any blizzards. The road through Beddgelert was particularly stunning (should have taken the main road, but SatNav was set to shortest route and I didn't twig that it was taking me over the high ground at first!), unfortunately I didn't have time to stop for photos .

[You can (just) make out a snowy mountain in the background of this shot taken the following day from Bangor University.]

Otherwise where we are seems to have escaped any more snow - no more than an occasional dusting / hard frost anyway - just enough to provide some good photo opportunities:

Green Shoots of Spring

Well if Spring hasn't quite Sprung yet, it is certainly poking its green shoots up above ground. Most noticeably with regard to our annual crop of snowdrops, but there are also a range of other bulbs on their way to flowerdom.

I planted over 100 cheap bulbs (tulips, crocuses, muscari, fritillaria, and whatever else was on offer in the Poundshop) earlier in January, but not sure if they'll make much of showing this year - hopefully some will survive and flower in Spring 2011.

Otherwise the garden has been cleared of its undergrowth of rotting montbretia leaves. The clematis montana (dislodged when the window men took it upon themselves to do the garage roofline - we hadn't ordered this, and ended up getting it for free) has been persuaded back on to the trellis on the garden wall - hopefully it will recover sufficiently to put on its usual glorious display.

We've finally pruned the raspberry canes as well, and the kitchen windowsill is resplendent with baby onions (decided to grow from seed this year). More to be done though - next on the list digging over the veg plots, and weeding the fruit cage - before more planting (tomatoes, courgettes, spinach, etc.) - next thing we know it'll be time to cut the grass and trim the hedges!

The Big Freeze?

That's what they are calling it - the Big Freeze - where most of the UK got hit with heavy snow for much of the first half of January. We got some here in West Wales, but being on the coast it wasn't so bad - didn't have any trouble getting in to work, as the bus ran every day no problem.

Anyway, here's my run down on January's weather, and if you want to see a more technical rendering the weather station now has its very own blog.