A Bank Holiday Weekend

Last weekend was Easter weekend, so we got two Bank Holidays, and thus a four day weekend.Which is nice.

I am finding that I am still very tired - I think that months of low-grade stress about moving house have now stated to catch up with me. And so I have, this weekend, been combining short-ish bursts of unpacking and organising, and longer bursts of being lazy. 

One of my radiators started leaking on the Thursday (fortunately it is by the back door, on a tiled floor, so easy to mop up. I think my error was in trying to turn up the heat on a radiator which (I suspect) has not been turned up, or down, for a very long time, and broke part of the valve. So I called a plumber, and he came on Saturday, and temporarily fixed the radiator (I am not currently allowed to to turn it on, or up, but it is no longer leaking). 

While he was here, we had a conversation about what will be needed to replace the boiler and update the heating system, which is at the top of my list of Stuff Which Needs Doing to the House. (Not least because I can't redecorate the living room until the boiler has been moved). 

I have another plumber coming on Tuesday so I can compare quotes, and will also have a chat with my new neighbour to see whether he knows anything to the credit (or dishonour) of either plumber, before I decide which to use!

Sunday was very cold, grey, and wet, so I stayed indoors, unpacked a few more boxes and sorted out some paperwork to send to my accountant to do my tax return (excitement or what!)

Monday, however, was a different story - it was beautifully sunny, so after pottering abut for a bit, I decided to go for a walk. I didn't go far - along to the end f the road, from where there is a gorgeous view out across the valley, then back through the woods, (along by a stream, then up a muddy hill, before swinging back along the lane to my house)

The hedgerows and the wood were full of wild garlic, all of which is coining into flower and adding a certain pungency to the atmosphere. 

There are a few bluebells - I think there will be a lot more in another week or so. I also found a small number of wild violets, lots of celandines, and what I think were probably wood anemones (my flower-identification skills are not great!) 

I also saw a fair few birds, and heard a lot more. My bird-identification skills are even less impressive than my flower-identification skills, but I saw what I think (having looks at the mug shots on the RSPB's site) was probably a Grey Wagtail (which, despite it's name, was actually yellow in many places) a Coal Tit (or possibly a Willow Tit, but Coal Tits are much more common, so I it seems more likely that's what it was) as well as lots of pheasants, and a buzzard.

It's nice to be able to go for a walk in the country without having to drive anywhere first, and having lived in towns since I left home, I hadn't really realised quite how much I've missed this.