No, this isn’t intended to be a leap onto a bandwagon. Rest assured: I’m not about to get political! However, I think that this winter has (thus far) been exceptionally mild. Upon what do I base this statement? Just basic observations. Take, for example, the fact that when I turned out of bed this morning the weather station showed an out-door temperature of 14C. It’s the 2nd February, for goodness’ sake! Don’t believe me? Here….

And, as further incontrovertible evidence of the madness, here are photos taken just this morning while walking Bella….

And yesterday we heard the first of the cranes flying north. This is, traditionally, the first augury of Spring’s arrival. I didn’t manage to catch a photo, but my neighbour, Sylvie, did:

L did battle with his first mosquito of the year last night, while the other day I saw butterflies drifting along the towpath. Apparently, this is a clear sign that the ambient temperature is in the vicinity of 60-70C, as they can’t fly below that threshold. And his friend, Jorges, found ticks on his cat, IdeeFixe, the other day. Gross, but there we go.

And, here’s a final piece of evidence, fresh from my window-box:

I’m not complaining about the (relatively) warm weather….. the electricity bill will be lower, for sure. But what does that mean for the summer?