march is almost over

most remarkable thing this month; the eclipse/new moon/equinox triangle.

I stood in my garden and I could see the eclipse – through cloud, so I didn’t need the unobtainable glasses. unfortunately the iphone I use as a camera could only record a very very white blob instead of the elegant crescent that was visible. at times the cloud got too thin, and I used a couple of sheets of paper with a pinhole, but a very small upside down image was pretty disappointing, compared with the cloud-veiled eclipse.

spring has been very cautious, with cold winds and a frost at night from time to time. the classic spring flowers are all out

hellebores, primroses, violets in Clip street, the japonica,

blackthorn, though the remaining bush in my garden which is covered in flower buds is in the shade, so it comes out later.

I am back in my shed too – a bisc firing last week cooked all but 2 of winter’s production.

today I’ve been washing some with iron oxide,

preparatory to slipping and glazing them, and there will be some glaze tests as well.

next I’m concentrating on bowls, mostly small

with little stem-type feet

and maybe some spoons

whilst birds and trees

and woods

get on with the spring business

secretly

but not so quietly in the case of the feathered sort