Pah! Only 6.8 hours of sunshine today, such a paltry amount after the
gloriously sunny days of this week. Still, managed 88.3 hours of the warm,
bright stuff this month so far, which is 72% of the total possible for the
first 11 days.

Temperatures are on the up, but really struggling. Haven't had a
double-figure job since the 5th March with today's maximum being 9.6°C.
Overnight minimum was a rather chilly 0.1°C.

No rainfall since the 28th Feb and everything dry. On a trip over to
Launceston this afternoon I noticed that parts of the moor on Dartmoor are
on fire.

Despite the below normal temperatures, Spring seems to be advancing with
celandines in flower in the more lowland, sheltered spots, and I even saw a
few hawthorn hedgerows coming into leaf. Still no frogspawn in the pond
(unusually late) but it is now full of pond life. Time to drain off some
'syrup' (more like sap really) from the silver maple tree and make some
maple syrup. Could be the best ever this year as the trees prefer a cold
winter (or so I am told).

(18:30), 5.2°C, RH 65%, DP -0.7°C, 1024 hPa (F), Wind 5 mph NNE.
_____________________
Nick
Otter Valley, Devon
83 m amsl
http://www.ottervalley.co.uk