Monday 3rd April 2023 - Soaking, Tadpoles and Sticky Buds

The weather has been pretty grim; cold with showers and generally overcast. On Friday there had been showers all morning but the afternoon looked to be perking up. Rather than walk on the muddy footpaths, after lunch, we decided to take a leisurely stroll round the village. All was well until we got to Grange Avenue and the heavens opened. We took refuge in the bus shelter on the Mundesley Road but by then the damage was done, we were soaked. The road started to flood and when the rain eased off a bit, we ventured out, taking care to bypass the flooded areas. Once we got home it was good to peel off our wet clothing and put on dry clothes, before putting the kettle on.

Not put off by the rain and cold, each day there have been a growing number of tadpoles ‘hatching’ from the spawn in our pond. Today, I think they are pretty well all out and with tails waggling, they are currently lining the pond edge, in rows. There must be hundreds this year; sad to think only a few will reach adulthood and return to our pond and spawn, but then on the other hand, if most did survive, we would have a veritable plague of frogs in our garden.

Today, at last the sun has been out. Still on the cold side but the brightness has made such a difference and a welcome move from the recent grey. I took a photo (see below) this morning of the horse chestnut tree, which is growing in the grounds of The Pleasaunce. The buds are just breaking and the tree will soon be in full leaf. I remember, many moons ago, we used to have what we called sticky buds (the unopened buds of the horse chestnut) in a vase with some daffodils, in the classroom where I went to school in Bucks. We children were fascinated by the stickiness and couldn’t resist touching the buds.