Happy Easter wishes

It's Good Friday morning, and before I get too busy with preparations for our visitors I wanted to wish all you lovely people who keep in contact with me by reading these blogs a very happy Easter holiday.

Severe frost having been forecast yesterday John and I spent some time last night trying to protect the blossoming Damson on the north side, it looked like this at 7 this morning, the sun is already out:

We couldn't cover all of it, but are hoping it will ensure us half a tree-load of damsons!  We also put a little cover  on my treasured little "Hollywood" plum [you can see it between the two trunks of the birch with the bird food] and over my new greengage plum tree behind the Damson  -  keeping fingers crossed!

Before I go and let the ducks out I just wanted to show you the path our silly ducks have made along the little fence trying to get back into their fenced off [for protection from the new drakes!] big pond area:

 The dark brown Anke is the worst offender, often accompanied by the lighter Lane, and then Captain joins them for protection, now and again Hedda, too.  There are holes all along the fence on the field side in the area where I've set arrows in the old photo below.

The other day, Tuesday, in the wet and cold, I was putting a second, sounder fence section against the "holey" one as far as it would reach, and blow me, Anke followed by Lane had slipped out at a place on the right of the last arrow I put in the picture above and were busy in the field.  Lane actually slipped back into the enclosure the same way she'd gone, but not Anke - she went searching for holes all along the right hand side of the fence.  I left them to it then, it WAS cold and wet, and there's no helping some people!

So with this constant urge of the inmates to break out and then foolishly running up and down the little fence making that path pictured at the top of this page the girls are prone to be "captured" by our most eager young drakes, great fights have been taking place there with Captain - and we have to open a gap in the fence and escort the escapees back several times a day.  On Tuesday it was very wet, and when I guided Anke, Lane and Captain back into their pond area Captain could hardly walk because of the great clods of mud accumulated under his paddles!