The Herefordshire Viking Hoard

In 2015, two metal detectorists uncovered a hoard of Viking artefacts near Leominster in Herefordshire. Instead of reporting this treasure find, as required by law, they sold most of the 300 pieces of jewellery and coins for personal profit. In 2019, both detectorists received long jail sentences (ten and eight & half years); two coin dealers were also convicted and given jail sentences. Out of the original hoard of 300+ pieces (worth up to £12 million), only 10 % was recovered including this 5th - 7th century crystal pendant.

The treasure find seems to go by various names. Wikipedia calls it The Leominster Hoard whereas Current Archaeology calls it The  Herefordshire Viking Hoard. At the moment, the British Museum is custodian of what remains of this Viking Hoard and it will cost Herefordshire Council about £1 million to buy it back and put it on display in the local museum.

Today (10/4/2022), Herefordshire Council and Hereford Museums organised a family day, including Viking re-enactment groups, at Hereford Rowing Club. We met up with two of our grandchildren and their dad to watch the re-enactments, make coins, try on helmets, etc. This bunch of Viking warriors looked pretty friendly though and were easily repelled by children throwing bean bags...

The day-out was free but there were several 'encouragements' to donate!

View from the Rear Window - March 2022

 March is the first month of meteorological Spring as we start to look forward to warmer days with less frequent frosts. The garden is really starting to green up and March is a great time for flowering bulbs. Our general impression was that March 2022 was a dry, sunny and fairly quiet month, but would the weather stats back that up? Previous months of 2022 can be found here and here. This photo of the back garden was taken on March 3rd 2022. For the most part, trees are still bare except for a few pink flowers on the wild cherry. Our neighbour's grass lawn is growing fast which is good for me as it supplies much-needed 'winter/spring' nitrogen for my hot composting system. The hellebores and viburnum provide some welcome contrast to the early Spring greening while daffodils and primulas provide a splash of yellow and the promise of warmer days (with occasional frosts!)... 

Garden and wild daffodils appear in February but will continue to flower throughout March as this garden photo from the 28th March shows...

...and the kerria japonica is not looking too bad.

By the end of March (30th) our wild cherry was looking its best with our neighbour's cherry tree a close second! Fortunately, we missed out on any really strong winds in March so the cherry blossom remained intact for longer...

March is also a good month for tulips and they bring exciting colour to the garden...

Jobs in the Garden

1. Seed sowing frenzy at the beginning of the month, especially tomatoes, sweet and chilli pepers, aubergines, courgettes, squashes and cucumber
2. Following on from 1, transplanting mini-plants to bigger/individual pots
3. Plant out sprouted garlic cloves (softneck, Sainsbury's) in the ground. These had been started off in the greenhouse (early February), hardened off in the polytunnel (late February) and planted outside on the 9th March
4. Split off some comfrey root for my daughter's garden
5. Onion sets arrive in the post on 19th March. Immediately plant outside next to garlic. Surround with insect-proof netting. Water every other day with rainwater from our waterbutts during dry periods
6. Mulch/feed fruit trees and bushes with compost: apples, pears, plums, redcurrants, blackcurrants, gooseberries & raspberries
7. Strawberry plants rooted in the Hydropod transplanted into 13 cm pots filled with recovered coir & placed in Wonderwall planters                                                                                                              
8. Neverending compost-making, pruning, tidying up and adding new plants to the garden
9. Last year's stored potato and onion harvest still being eaten! Along with regular pickings of sprouting brocolli, kale, spinach and chard sown last year  
10. To be honest, not that busy a month - we had time to take a short break and visit family

March 2022 Weather

A summary of key weather parameter for March 2022 can be found in the table below. Not too windy (unlike February), generally dry with warm daytime and cool nighttime temperatures.

March 2022
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	8 oC
Maximum Monthly Temperature	21 oC	24th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	-0 oC#	17th & 21st
Number of Air Frost Days	2
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	0
Monthly Precipitation	39.4 mm
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	11.4 mm	10th - 11th
Number of Dry Days	19
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	107
Average Wind Speed	4 km/h
Highest Wind Speed	37 km/h	13th & 31st
Maximum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1043.6 hPa	18th
Minimum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	996.2 hPa	11th
Average Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)	1021.5 hPa

# minimum temperature below 0 ℃ but not as cold as -1 ℃ so also counts as an air frost day

Maximum and minimum temperatures throughout the month are shown in the bar graph below [click once on the plot for a larger, clearer image]. The second half of the month was characterised by warm, even hot, sunny days combined with cold nights (including a couple of air frosts).

The next bargraph summarises rainfall and solar radiation during March 2022 [click on plot for larger image].  Rainfall was low and occurred at the start, middle and end of the month. The second half of the month was notable for its sunny days.

The Met Office reported March 2022 as the the second sunniest in the UK since records began in 1919 (and the sunniest since 1929) as high pressure and clear skies were the order of the day (and night).  Northern Ireland (NI) and Scotland had an especially sunny March with NI having nearly twice the sunshine hours it normally receives.

Compared with the long-term average (1991-2020), the West Midlands, including Herefordshire, was a bit sunnier than normal with average rainfall and a mean temperature about 1 ℃ higher.

So, how does March 2022 in the back garden compare with 2020 and 2021? Temperature-wise, 2022 stands out because of its significantly higher maximum temperature (21 ℃) but is, otherwise, quite similar to 2020 and 2021.

Compared with 2020 & 2021, March 2022 had similar rainfall and sunshine but was a little less windy...

And finally, some pictures from the garden...

Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum

Queenswood is Herefordshire's only Country Park and a popular destination (over 500,000 visitors per year) for both locals and tourists. Lying between Hereford and Leominster, it comprises 123 acres of ancient native woodland (designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, SSSI) surrounding a 47-acre Arboretum with a collection of over 1200 rare and exotic trees. Although owned by Herefordshire Council, a 'community asset transfer' to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and New Leaf Sustainable Development, on a 99-year lease, was made in 2016. There is an excellent cafe, well-equipped shop, toilets and a large childrens' playground to go with the many miles of tracks. Most people visit the viewpoint (below) which has a good vantage looking south and eastwards as far as Wales and Gloucestershire.

A toposcope points out the key landmarks. For example, the Skirrid can be 'clearly' seen in the far distance (25 miles?), instantaneously recognisable by its shape, just right of centre.

It was a bright, mostly sunny, day with a cool north breeze during our visit on April 1st 2022. There were only about 20 cars in the car park although quite a few of the visitors seemed to be enjoying the warmth of the cafe. There are a number of signposted walks such as the Gruffalo Trail...

...but we tend to just follow our noses and see where it leads. The cherry trees and magnolias were in blossom...

...but the stars of the show were the carpets of wood anemone...

...and primroses...

...and, near the viewpoint, a good display of common dog violets...

A local resident clearly enjoys daffodils, whilst also benefitting from a fine display of wood anemones...

A final visit to our favourite piece of wood art...

...before returning to the car park and paying for our stay. There was just enough time to meet someone complaining about the car parking charges - a much-discussed topic in the local newspaper. I guess in the olden days when Queenswood was operated by Herefordshire Council, car parking was free so I can understand why some people complain now that they have to pay when they didn't in the past. However, if they paused for a moment and thought about it, they would realise they have always paid for the car parking; just through local taxes rather than cash in hand.

Time to plan another visit when the bluebells are out and when the Acers are at their best.

Common Hill Nature Reserve - March Update

 We paid one of our regular visits to Common Hill Nature Reserve on 22nd March. See here and here for January and February reports. The trees are still waiting to leaf up but the sward is greening up nicely as this view from the corner near the main North meadow shows...

...and looking back towards the entrance...

...and the view towards Haugh Wood as we leave the top of North Meadow...

...crossing the footpath and looking up Monument Hill towards the anthills...

...then climbing Monument Hill and looking back...

...before popping into Old Cider House...

...and, finally, from the gate looking up the slope of Round's Meadow...

...where they have been installing new stock fencing...

It was a bright sunny afternoon with a coolish breeze and a temperature of around 18-19 ℃.

Flora (flowering):

• Lesser Celandine - widely distributed
• Cowslip - single specimen
• Primrose - widely distributed
• Dog's Mercury - widely distributed
• Daffodil - single group, garden escapee
• Dandelion
• Barren Strawberry
• Sweet Violet - widely distributed

Most flowering plants seen in North Meadow

Fauna:

• Three butterflies spotted but not identified. One white seen in the distance and two red/brown - possibly Comma and Peacock - seen once and fleetingly
• Woodpecker heard in the distance (from the direction of Haugh Wood)
• Robin
• Wren
• Blackbird
• Buzzard
• Chiffchaff
• Pheasant
• Wood Pigeon

New Arrivals - Frogspawn

 First frogspawn sighting of 2022 (23rd March) in our small garden pond...

...or in close-up...

No sign of the parents!

The appearance of frogspawn is an annual event. Unfortunately, we haven't kept past records of first sightings; anecdotally, this year seems to be later than usual.

The arrival of frogspawn in the Spring is another example of phenology. You can record these events at Nature's Calendar, a citizen science project run by the Woodland Trust, where I have already recorded our first sightings of Snowdrop, Peacock & Comma butterflies, as well as Frogspawn.

Forest of Dean Sculpture Park - Taster Session

Returning from a short holiday near Chepstow, we stopped off at Tintern Abbey (raining) and Beechenhurst in the Forest of Dean (still raining). It stopped raining when we got home. Despite the rain, we enjoyed looking around Tintern Abbey (it rained last time we were there if I remember correctly) walking a short section of the Sculpture Trail at Beechenhurst. Did I mention that it rained most of the day?

The Sculpture Trail gets a refresh every now and then so is always worth a return visit. Due to the inclement weather, we only managed the first few sculptures but we will definitely be back...

...and back to the car park via a short-cut though not before I'd slid down a muddy bank on my backside!

Tulip Time

 

The first fully-fledged tulip flower in the garden came out on the 17th March, or maybe a day or so earlier, along with these tulipa turkestanica ...

Here's hoping for a tulip display to match last year's.