Thursday 20th after the rain

It was raining quite heavily this morning, but well before lunch the sun came out briefly and this was the view into the garden:

When I think that nothing would ever grow again ... view from same window below on 22.3.13

On Tuesday I found ducks and drakes lying quietly in the shade ....

..... and didn't manage to get all of the woodpecker in the white lilac tree into this photo:

Our ducks still supply us with plenty of eggs even though they haven't had layers' pellets since the end of April. These two lots are from Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th,

and these are the flower bunches for the tables and helpers at the Luncheon Club on Wednesday, crammed into the big yellow trug:

While John and I were watching the Chelsea Flower Show many weeks ago now a new Royal Dutch Hoe was featured, 

and John got so excited about it - saying that it was exactly what he'd always wanted in a hoe - that I ordered it for him immediately.  Unfortunately it was out of stock as soon as I'd ordered it [the Chelsea effect!] and we had to wait a good three weeks for delivery.





Well, there was excited shouting from John as we arrived back home from the Luncheon Club, as he'd spotted the hoe leaning against the front door, and it wasn't long before he was in the garden trying it out:

[I promised not to show him in his shorts and wellies, so I haven't!  He was so happy with the performance of the hoe, by the way, that he said he was going to take it to bed with him *lol*]