:: spring prang

SNOW SHOWERS TO CUT SHORT SUNNY SPELL

Forecasters today predicted snow showers and frost to bring an abrupt end to a sunny spell across the UK.
A cold front is bringing gale force winds and blizzards from the Arctic with the temperatures plummeting from highs today of 14C (57F) in the south to minus 4C (25F) in parts of Scotland, northern England and Wales by Monday.
Stephen Davenport, senior forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “That’s really quite a drop. Not only that, we will have biting north-westerly winds with significant wind chill to make it feel even colder.
“These north west winds are dragging colder air from the Polar and Arctic regions. Scotland will see lots of hail, sleet and snow by Sunday."
etc.

Uh oh. Lots of things in my garden think it's time to grow crazy - the roses, for example, are leafing out extravagantly.

Snow though! Seriously, how thrilling. There wasn't nearly enough snow this winter. I've been saying in hopeful tones that I remember it snowing heavily in April one year. And here it is only March! Apparently down in Englandshire it's been quite warm this week. Everyone of course puts this down to climate change and rushes around changing their lightbulbs and recycling cardboard. I remember back in the 80s when the scientists who predicted climate change were regarded as nutters. Making changes back then would have really helped, but it was impossible in a way: if we had made all the changes and nothing happened, people would be saying that maybe nothing would have happened anyway. Ach, it makes my head hurt.

Meanwhile, for my money the most terrifying news item was this one, tucked away at the bottom of the page as an amusement:

Giant cold water eddy off Sydney lowers sea level

SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) – Australian oceanographers have discovered a giant cold water eddy off Sydney which has lowered sea levels almost one metre and impacted a major ocean current.
The eddy, which has diameter of about 200 km (120 miles) and reaches to depth of 1 km (600 yards), lies about 100 km (60 miles) off Sydney, said Australia’s peak scientific body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The CSIRO said the eddy was so powerful it had pushed out to sea the strong East Australian Current.

Someone's pulled the plug! Either that or the currents are changing direction. The sea surface is 2ft lower at the middle of the eddy, which is some comfort to Kiribati I guess.

In my garden, it's all go. The plum tree is in, can't wait for that to blossom (might not be this year of course). Brian from the fencing place came and measured up for the raised bed; no sign of a quote yet. And today the compost bin arrived.
The council sells cheap compost bins - the cheapest ones are like big upside-down buckets open at top and bottom. I've noticed that a lot of these end up heaved over people's fences, so I was more attracted to a slightly more expensive model, which clips together in sections. This allows you to open the bottom to shovel out any compost that might be ready. The design is very cunning - so cunning that I immediately thought hey, if I get six or so of these I could build a raised bed from them ... it's not a bad idea. They are really sturdy. Not as attractive as sleepers, but I could do it myself. Hmmm. Then I'd have loads of lids left over - I could use those to plug the gaps in the hedge where the rabbits get through.

Speaking of wildlife, the squirrel is back. It was absent for a while but showed up again this week, bold as brass, sitting on the lawn. I'm going to get it a one-way ticket to Aberdeenshire, where they are going to cull grey squirrels to protect the native reds. Here's a fascinating fact: once you've trapped a grey squirrel it is against the law to release it. You HAVE to kill it. In Aberdeenshire they're putting them in sacks and beating them with a club. Before I had my very own squirrel I would have been appalled. Now I'm interested. Bertie is completely useless. This morning I saw the pest from the bedroom window, up on the bird feeder helping itself to nuts (the squirrel this is, not the dog). I got Bertie out of bed (he was resting between naps), hurried him downstairs and shoved him out the door. Even though it didn't start running for the tree until he was shooting up the steps on to the lawn he STILL didn't come close to catching it.

Major discovery of the week: If you put your car keys through the washing machine the remote control fob will no longer work. Not only that: if you have been silly enough to misplace your spare key, it will cost a total of £150 to get new keys cut and reprogrammed. I am therefore condemned to putting my stupid key in the stupid keyhole to lock and unlock the doors, just like in the olden days. Tschah! I should just get a new car.