Spring

The sweet song of the robin is such a distinctive feature of these early spring mornings. This little bird sings through the day from before dawn until dusk. His territory includes part of our garden and the hedge on the opposite side of the lane past the house. There is another territory with a singing male across the road from us. Last year was odd as there were no robins audible from our garden at all, unoccupied territories are unusual. What happened to them all we don't know, but this year there are good numbers around us again.

We had a relaxing day today with our visitors Sue and Chris. We went for a walk to Jenny Brown's Point. The lesser celandines are beginning to flower and the sweet violets are showing well, spring has advanced a lot in the last week.

Last night we watched the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was too tired and fell asleep half way through - no reflection on the film. I wonder though if a movie of a book that you really enjoyed is always a bit of a disappointment. The book was rich in detail that can't be conveyed in a relatively short film. It was well made and Salander was brilliantly cast. I doubt that the forthcoming Hollywood versions will be so true to the books.

Ever since Tuesday and the confirmation that the redundancy axe will not be falling on me, the weight that had been bearing down for months is lifting away with every day. I haven't felt so calm for a long time. It felt like our lives had been on hold, but now we can start thinking about the future again.

I'm sorry that I'm desperately behind with my comments. I will catch up before the end of the weekend. Thank you for all the lovely comments and favourites for yesterday's frosty view of Dallam park.