Spring has sprung!

There’s definitely been a change in the season this week. 

We've had some nice warm evenings, though the sun is still fairly low (so created this shadow pattern on the chai wall): Today its 21° C now (1.00pm) and set to be at least 22° later this afternoon.

This week we’ve heard the first cuckoo of spring; the first tiny lizards came out of hiding to bask in the sun:

The first blossom appeared on the fruit trees, though the narcissus are about finished; buds are breaking on the trees we planted and several existing ones; we’ve been eating outside on the patio next to the pool in the sunshine, and it’s warm enough for shorts. We've new lettuce and tomatoes growing in the potager, with the onions sprouting well but the potatoes have yet to show. We planted a lot of fruit bushes (raspberry, blackcurrant, blueberry, gooseberry, redcurrant) and last years strawberries are coming to life.  Here's lunch ready by the pool:

Might even get the sun-loungers out this afternoon, though I don't think we'll try a dip just yet. The pool temperature was 17° C a few minutes ago, so it still has some warming up to do.