Ducks

The other day Ben and I  were out for our walk when two ducks flew up out of the ditch beside the road, they went so fast I barely had time to see them. The sparrow hawk has been round the bird feeders again lately and a magpie has discovered it can get on the bird table which is a bit of a nuisance. The cold weather has halted the fast growth and we still have some daffodils and the cowslips are only coming into their best. The poor horse chestnut trees got a real bashing in the gales lately with leaves and flowers blown off them, the lane looked as if it was covered in confetti with all the bits of leaf and blackthorn flowers. This last two or three days we have had heavy showers of hail which made it look as if it had snowed, with bright sunshine in between but no warmth as the wind has been so cold.