Summer Starts Now

Hard and granular like coarse sugar, the snow still lingers in the shady spots of the garden, early morning sunshine having given way to sleety rain. But today is the first day of summer, for it is the day I plant my tomato seeds. A small heated propagator in the greenhouse will be their womb, along with seeds of Echinacea, Rudbeckia, Scabiosa, Eryngium and Gaillardia. A bag of seed compost and vermiculite with which to cover the seeds, were obtained from the local garden centre, the seeds themselves having been purchased by mail-order a couple of weeks ago.

Thence to the TV to watch a bunch of Celts knock lumps out of each other in the name of sport, this weekend marking the start of the Six nations rugby tournament. Watched England labour to a victory over a very poor Italian side on Saturday, which was best viewed through the bottom of a glass. Twitter with Will Carling (former England Rugby captain for the un-initiated) as Wales dominate the match. Wales, France and Ireland seem to be in a different league compared to England, Scotland and Italy.