no roof tiles

The greenhouse temperature for last night showed -4C. This time last year I started sowing seeds in the house and greenhouse but its so cold I think I'll wait for a couple of weeks. In the greenhouse this alpine primula cheered me up this morning, the flower is less than half an inch across, such a tiny plant.
In the garden this Hebe 'Pink Elephant' showing its promised cold weather colours, this plant is about a foot high and a foot across now.
The old tiles are completely off, they have made a start on removing the chimneys and won't start to re-tile until they are done. I wish somebody in charge would let me know whats happening but I always seem to miss the 'boss'.

walk at Kilmartin

On our permaculture walk this weekend we found a monkey-puzzle tree and a pheasant, neither indiginous to Scotland but both seen to be doing well. There is a sapling monkey-puzzle close to this big one but its not known if somebody has planted this or if it has seeded itself. The pheasant is probably deliberatly reared for shooting and I don't know if they breed wild. We also learned how to identify some deciduous trees by their bark formation and the shape of growth(when they have no leaves) and looked at emerging hedgerow plants, spring must be here! The weather forecast for this week is predicting -10C but I am refusing to believe this because I no roof on the house and am feeling chilly as it is!! The greenhouse themometer is showing -1C this morning.

ferry to Dunoon

On Wednesday, we decided to go for a ferry trip to Dunoon, this is the gateway across the road where you disembark from the ferry. A nice bit of colour, primulas and crocus. It was a dry but very, very chilly day.
'The Saturn'
A view taken from the ferry in the middle of the Clyde, the zoom lens in on maximum.

spring bulbs

Iris Reticulata 'Harmony',
Iris Reticulata 'Pauline', both bought last year as bulbs, I am so pleased they are so pretty.

garden gnome imitation

on the subject of what you wear when you're cold. . . after paddling the kayak over to and round Cumbrae in the rain, deciding the weather wasn't playing safe and getting the ferry back from the island; I was totally soaked through and changed into the 'emergency' kit I keep in the boat. . . thermal leggins and t-shirt, fleece socks, pertex /pile jumper, and of course the marvellous fleecy hat. I am drinking a nice cup of hot-chocolate made by a kind friend who then took this photograph.
so, on the subject of what you wear when you're cold I would have to vote for ANYTHING. ha

my inner core

No photographs as my inner core is safely under a layer of skin(and insulation, polite word for fat!). Today I had my 3rd Pilates lesson from a friend so I can get to the level needed to join her beginners class, my inner core is obviously somewhat negleted! Its nice to have the one2one to know your doing things properly. I am so unfit, still to do more practice and have another lesson. I think I've been missing the kayaking during the bad weather this winter and I've not been working regularly in the garden.
Once my legs had stopped shaking I got on my way to the supermarket for the big 'once in a while, fill the cupboards' shop(expensive, bright, busy, I hate it!). As I drove there was a heavy hail storm, once it finished I noticed the cars coming towards me were completely dry and all the ones going my way had a layer of white! Then while in the store there was lightning outside and a massive roll of thunder, followed by another great long hail storm. Being inside such a large building made the noise quite incredible and people stopped to discuss it, which must be a 'safety in numbers' fear reaction. I drove home and emptied the car in horrible sleety rain, yuck.
Right, its time to tuck into the gardening magazine and chocolate, I'm sure I've pulled a muscle in my belly button, do you think that's possible?

in the rain

a visit to the garden centre in the rain, I found a spiders web in amongst their pots for sale, I think the pots are more in focus than the web though, and Fiona borrowed the camera to take the raindrops on the twigs. no purchases made which is unusual for us but we had a nice cup of hot chocolate in the cafe.

how cute is Daisy?

the new camera, a canon s2 1s, arrived yesterday and I planned to go out and play with it today. however the weather is putting me off even going into the garden! this morning almost showed promise with a very light smattering of snow on the hills, which you could just see through the clouds, but as usual its turned to freezing rain and the hills are obscured. brrr. . . so here is Daisy, taken on macro with the light coming from the window. this is definatley not a 'point and shoot' camera, so I may be a while reading the manual!

saving electricity

I am careful to switch of lights in rooms I am not using, every little helps

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg

hidden snowdrops

My morning wander round the garden found, at last, snowdrops flowering. They are under the hedge against the fence and must have bit more shelter there, also be drier and less likely to be disturbed(by me, weeding!)
This lovely Iris reticulata, Katherine Hodkins, is flowering away in the cold frame. I think I'll put it out into the greenhouse so I can see it as I walk by. This is a bulb which is destined for my spring flowering trough, the one I can see in my minds eye. . .

My gardening friend Billy has just been down for a chat, he is starting his seed planting today with courgettes and peppers on the windowsill of their house. He will put these out into a heated green house when they get potted on. I don't heat my greenhouse so I don't start as early.