March is upon us and we are starting to feel the warmth on our faces and the shorts have made their first appearance of the year (the legs won’t be shown on the blog for a while yet mind, thankfully). However, one of the gang hates the warmer weather and is always looking for an opportunity to cool off…

However, in addition to Betty, she has a new companion on our daily walks. Teddy II, who lives in the village has decided to join us. He’s always waiting for us when we set off and then after the walk he goes back home! Here he is doing one of his favourite activities.

On the walk last week we spotted a Giant Orchid, a telltale sign that spring is finally here.

Meanwhile in the garden, although we have had daffodils for ages, more are popping up every day and they are now being joined by the irises. Most pleasing of all, however, is the appearance of the tree blossom – blackthorn, peach, apricot, almond and here is the ornamental plum.

The courtyard has a new member. Jackie planted an avocado stone in a pot a few years ago and we kept it in the bathroom. It grew and grew and grew. And despite constant pruning to limit its size, it has simply outgrown its surroundings and so now has to survive outside. It should be OK for the summer but I can’t see it lasting the winter. We shall see.

The orange trees in the courtyard are still going strong and despite me making litres and litres of juice, the oranges keep coming!

Finally a few more shots of the hairy ones.

Admittedly the locals call Jussi “el gordo”, the fat one, however, I don’t know why she looks quite so lardy in this shot – she’s not that bad! It’s just her thick coat she says.