Clematis seed head

Last year's seed heads on Clematis tangutica are attracting the attention of the sparrows who are detaching them and taking them off, presumably to line their nests with. The seeds heads are very soft, so it seems a good idea. A week or two back I spotted a mouse doing the same thing - it had to climb up the plant to get to them and then bite one off and rush off with it as fast as possible. In broad daylight it was perhaps a risky strategy, but no doubt worth it to the mouse.

Cooler, duller weather today heralds the return of something more typical of early March, not a bad thing really.