Frosted Snowflakes

There was a hard frost this morning. The poor snowflakes were laid low, and they didn’t stand up again when they had thawed. For two months, in what should be the worst part of winter, we had only a few mild frosts. The garden was not prepared for this. It will be a few days before I can assess the damage. Most of my fruit trees are in blossom. The problem is not simply the frost, but the rapid thaw that comes with the warm sunshine. (Our latitude is about 43º) I used to dash out before sunrise and spray water over everything to slow the thaw, but it’s such a business, having to drag a hose out of the shed, and mess about with frozen taps. I’m not as young as I used to be.

I heard a greenfinch this morning. I hope he is setting up home here. For me the rasping of the greenfinch and the wavering song of the grey warbler are the quintessential sounds of summer.