Thankfully this time it wasn't me... It is usually me who dons the waders and steps out into the unknown, but this time Alistair was keen to get in there and clear the weed out - which is incredibly heavy and full of squirmy things. Any newts found get gently placed back into the pond (Alistair says some were as big as crocodiles but then he is prone to exaggeration!). Don't tell anyone about our newts in case the heavy mob from the EU descend and want to know how many we have and are they all accounted for! And while they're here they will no doubt want to check on the bats, one of which Alistair found under the bed a few weeks ago (Boudicca the killer cat had got it). That cat has got to go. We put a collar with bell on her but she has managed to remove that, no doubt while climbing trees looking for nests - I just can bear her murderous ways anymore. Alistair did ring the cat rescue centre where she came from originally but they are full at present, most probably with other killer cats.

Anyway the pond is looking better and the organic nematode things that I put in seem to have cleared the algae bloom and hopefully the bit of rain we had yesterday has flushed through some fresh water from the stream. The film below was taken on Sunday when we had a family BBQ, the first of the year. We have used the summer house for the first time which involved us having to stock it and get things moved up to that part of the garden; it's quite a trek and we were pleased and relieved when the younger members of the family cleared the plates and dishes with several trips back down to the house. Next time it should be plain sailing.

So much to do in the garden and if you have watched the film below you will see that we have been overwhelmed with dandelion wishes/seeds, which have blown in from the neighbouring fields. We are going to have a serious dandelion problem at some point!