Last September I planted some Puschkinia Libanotica bulbs, common name Russian Snowdrops.
That was the first time I have used this species and they are just coming into flower.
Exquisite small white flowers with pale blue stripes.
Two thing I have noticed about the flowers.
In the shade they appear pale blue:
Such wild variations in temperature lately.
Another morning starting near 0C though afternoons are reaching around 15C
Plenty of warmth from the Sun is waking up many plants.
Today it is the turn of my corkscrew Hazel bush.
Some of the catkins are opening:
Yesterday we had wall to wall Sunshine.
The second day where the temperature has reached 14C by the afternoon.
Returning from our mid morning walk the first thing which caught my eye ...
... the various growths on the Hibiscus bush.
Its branches always looks well and truly dead this time of year.
Next spotted were the first opening flowers on ...
... the tete-a-tete miniature narcissus bulbs.
Nearby were in the order of 20 ...
... 7 spot ladybirds scattered about.
I decided to wander over to have a look at my heather plants.
Even more of them there ...
But almost deafening was the sheer number of ...
... bees busy buzzing from flower to flower.
Lots of background twittering from the House Sparrows.
Amazing what a bit of warmth will produce this time of year.
When I lifted the lid on a garden store I thought a small moth had flown out.
When it landed on the lid I could see it was ....
.... a lacewing.
Things are coming back to life.
I have noticed plenty of flies recently.
Spiders are making a nuisance of themselves building their webs in front of my cameras.
Even the occasional bumblebee has been seen.
It is quite a while since I took some photographs around the outside of St. Mary's, Manby. Since then I have been promising myself to have a quick look round the inside. As I had to visit two other places in Manby I took the opportunity to see whether it was open.
Saint Mary's Manby dates back to the 15th Century and may have been built on the site of an earlier church. One clue is a late Anglo-Saxon slab which was discovered during Victorian restoration work. It can now be seen embedded in the north wall of the Nave.
On entering the church through the North porch the font is the first item to be seen:
It was very dark inside which made the magnificent East window stand out:
Close view of the central figure:
The inscription:
Either side, behind the choir stalls, are identical windows:
From the outside I was just able to make out another stained glass window near the base of the tower.
Unfortunately this is hidden from view behind the organ loft:
A couple of views of the pulpit:
One of the roof timbers:
and finally a brass memorial plaque:
All photographs taken with my trusty Nikon Coolpix S9050 pocket camera.
Its tiny built in flash gun did a grand job dispelling the gloom.
