Winter’s Tail

Although 21 days short of the vernal equinox, my predilection for calendar based seasons means that today, for me, is the end of Winter, if anything a day ahead of itself with blue skies, warm sunshine, green shoots and paired up ducks in spring-like evidence during a walk around Hardwick Park; in truth this winter has been embarrassingly uneventful for us in the north east of England, the incessant and damaging south-westerly storms not only shed their loads before reaching us (our flood prone roads that normally cut off the village two or three times a year remained passable throughout) but also kept our usual snow at bay and our early morning windscreens largely frost-free, giving conditions mild enough in our garden for a rose to continue in flower right through to February.