A sign of spring

Gave the hen house a good clean out this morning and the hens thought it was great fun.  They love attacking and scratching up the old newspaper and were determined to "help" me!  I gave them a couple of huge sprout plants, complete with roots and soil, as a treat.  What happy hens!  Two of the four of them are now laying, the other two are a bit younger but they'll be laying before long. 

Then I got my secateurs and pruning saw out and had a bit of a go at a willow tree which is doing its best to push the wall down and is shading out the grass.  Very satisfying work!  

The common name for hellebores seems to be either Christmas or Lenten Rose, so this one is either late or early!  B&J, our neighbours, have lots of them in their woodland garden, and most of them are in bud, but I spotted this one flowering as I left this afternoon.