11th March
The primroses are starting to flower in the banks and the wild daffodils are out down in Under Hill. The birds are singing their hearts out and it has turned bitterly cold again. It was down to minus 4, two nights ago. We were out late, as James found a ewe starting to prolapse when he did the 'last-thing-at-night' round of the animals. Walking back to the house after we'd strapped her up, the stars were brilliant. There haven't been many nights like that this winter. The days have been lovely, sunny and dry.
Our one surviving laying brown hen (the other 5 were taken by the fox), always appears when I'm feeding the cats. Most of them are frightened of her and will leave the milk until she's had enough.
