Last week gave us a glimpse of what we hope is to come. For a couple of days, the sun shone and we even ventured out without coats.
Now, whether you prefer the meteorological or astronomical definition of spring is entirely up to you — but there could now be no argument — last Friday marked the beginning of astronomical spring. It is now, officially, spring.
By midweek, the sunshine had real warmth in it, enough to discard coats on our walks.
Last week was all about the strong winds, especially on Thursday. Nostell had to close for the day for safety reasons, but thankfully, I spotted the notice on Facebook, saving us from a wasted trip.
Even when the sun came out, its warmth was cancelled out by the bitterly cold wind. Most of the people we met on our walks looked like they’d only ventured out because their dogs insisted.
March marks the beginning of meteorological spring. This is the system used by forecasters, where the months of the year are divided so that each season consists of three full months. It keeps things simple.
On our walks recently, the paths had been drying out nicely, although after the latest rain, they are probably full of puddles again.
Of course, there is also astronomical (or vernal) spring, which this year begins on the 20th of March.
We had a bit of a respite in our weather. I can’t quite go as far as to say we haven’t had any rain, but we have had some whole precipitation-free days.
On one of our walks at Nostell, the puddles that had turned the pathways into obstacle courses had almost dried up. This was only a temporary phenomenon, as by Saturday the puddles were back.
We need just two more stamps on Ruby’s Pooch Passport to complete the challenge of visiting twelve National Trust properties before the end of February.
It would be considerably easier if we had realised sooner that the National Trust was issuing passports for 2025–2026. They seemed to keep this very quiet until something surfaced on Facebook. By then, we were already a month behind, and playing catch-up.
In hindsight, we may have made a tactical error by leaving the two properties that require a trip across the Pennines until last. Still, one of them — Dunham Massey — is well worth a winter visit, so perhaps it’s not such a bad move after all, if only we make it.
What a truly miserable week it’s been. There have been the odd flashes of brightness, but for the most part the days have been damp, drizzly, and thoroughly dull. On our walks, a bitterly cold wind has stung our faces, making us question our life choices.
Ruby, naturally, remains completely unfazed. She has continued to explore every interesting smell with great enthusiasm, while we’ve been keen to complete our walks at record speed and return to the warmth indoors. Priorities, clearly, differ.
Aside from Ruby’s walks, most of our time has been spent inside, so there’s little to report. Even when we have ventured out, it’s been far too cold and wet to hang around taking photos. Here’s hoping next week brings something a little brighter — or at least drier.
We visited the local garden centre this weekend after they announced it was their annual Potato Day, which is when we usually stock up for the growing season ahead. Alongside the usual bags of seed potatoes, as usual, they also sell individual tubers - ideal for us, as we enjoy trying out new varieties without committing to a full bag.
This year we chose four we haven’t grown before: Harry, Jacky, Caesar, and Mozart, buying five tubers of each. It’s always fun experimenting with different potatoes to see how they grow and, of course, how they taste. Any favourites may well make it onto our general growing list in future years.
The potatoes are now home and ready for chitting. We’re looking forward to planting them out - once the ground finally (if ever) dries out - and hopefully enjoying a great harvest later in the year.
At the beginning of last week, we were treated to murky, misty, and, to be frank, absolutely miserable weather — the sort that makes staying indoors feel like the only sensible option.
Of course, with Ruby around, that really isn’t an option. She has a lot of energy that needs using up, otherwise we’re faced with full-blown doggy sulks. So we wrapped up warmly and headed over to Temple Newsam. As usual, Ruby likes to kick things off with a game of chase, and Martyn had to keep adjusting his throws so they didn’t go so far that she vanished from sight altogether.
Last week, we celebrated two birthdays. Martyn's was on Wednesday, and on Thursday, it was Ruby's sixth birthday. How time flies. Martyn's birthday marked several multiples of six and some.
It would take several posts to create a photo history for Martyn but Ruby's is more manageable, so here goes.
I know that I am late with my New Year's greeting, but as the saying goes - Better late than never.
We've had a lazy time. Our afternoon walks have been local, as we reckoned everywhere, including the roads, would be really busy with many people still taking time off work and school.
Staying local was a wise move as Nostell was heaving on the two days that we visited. Hardly surprising, as one was New Year's Day. Extra areas were given over to parking, and it was even too busy for Ruby to have a ball chasing game.
This week, we will probably have the place more or less to ourselves.
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