Just Chilling Out.

After all the miles trudged this week I decided to spend a quiet day just chilling out in the garden and surprisingly there was very little noise from either the local traffic or any of the neighbours ......

 .... just the gentle sound of water droplets.

 Most of the small specie Tulips are well past their best but here are some of the delights that are dotted 

 around the garden providing that important early spring colour.

Now it is the turn of the Alliums as the stems rise up high and their sheaths slowly unfurl to present their spherical balls of blue, purple and mauve hues. Over the years I have been trying to remove the non-native Spanish Bluebell (Hyacinthiodes hispanica) but it continues to reappear and at least provides an addition to the blue palette at this time of year.

The Lilac that provides a hiding place for the Blue Tits before entering the nest box will soon produce a lovely fragrance as the clusters of blooms begin to open.

Even the avian activity today was fairly downbeat ... the House Sparrows hid from view most of the time; Parakeets made a late afternoon visit but refrained from gorging themselves on the recently stocked feeders; Greenfinch and Great Tit were close by with Woodpigeon, Collared Dove and Magpie but everything went deathly silent as a Sparrowhawk slowly drifted over at rooftop level. I recently refurbished an open nest box and today I noticed that there was a lining of moss and leaves so possibly the Blackbird who has been skulking in the border is starting to build for his partner ... only time will tell.

Blue Tit Nesting Update: I checked the box today and the female is sitting but I didn't disturb her to see what the egg situation might be. The male has been flying in and out at irregular intervals to feed her so all is well at the moment.     

Wishing Everyone a Happy Easter.    FAB.