Long wait for the apple blossom

It's that magical time of year when the fruit-growing districts south of Warsaw are about to explode into blossom. But because of the cold and wet April, it's a long wait. I went for a long walk around the orchards to see where we stand. Below: of the thousands of apple trees I walked past, this one tree was nearest to bloom - the blossom is still tightly furled. I saw no other apple tree anywhere near this state of advancement. Will the trees be in flower next weekend? It's a public holiday, so that would be good. More likely, the weekend of 8-9 May will see the best of the blossom. I missed it last year because of the strict lockdown, and the year before, I was in London at the time.

 

The mirabelle plums are in flower; the first fruit-bearing trees to do so. No sign of blossom on the cherry orchard across the way, nor on any of my plum trees.

Carpeted with flowers - six/seven white petals and yellow stamens with a green centre. Zawilec gajowy - wood anemone (thanks Wilk Bury!) This is the wood directly adjacent to my działka.

Below: a stork between the apple trees. Leaves starting to appear - but no blossom yet.

Below: the road from Grobice to Jakubowizna - sandy. The word is that the local authorities wanted to have this road asphalted from end to end, but that would mean widening it to conform with road-building standards. Some landowners blocked this plan, because they'd rather put up with the discomfort of a muddy, rutty track than give up a few square metres of their land. 

Back to my działka for lunch; here's the view (below) looking south towards the road, the new gravel drive to the eastern edge of the plot. Much landscaping work awaits!

Looking north towards the back of the garden. You can see the fence in its new position clearly (the electricity pylon was on the other side beforehand). And the gravel drive triangle, enabling easier manoeuvring of vehicles.

Left: a cold north-westerly wind hurried fingers of rain-cloud across the landscape; Jakubowizna avoided a soaking. Looking west to the end of my road across the tracks. Top temperature, just 10C, three degrees cooler than the average daily high for April. Despite the chill, the sun popped out from time to time, bringing cheer. Day's walking total: 13,400 paces. Frequent snap-stops so only 23 minutes of that counted as moderate- to high-intensity exercise.

This time two years ago:

Electromobility - the last half-mile

This time three years ago:
It's binary. There's either a God or there isn't...

This time five years ago:
Work on the railway line, work on the golf course

This time eight years ago:
Kestrel on the roof

This time nine years ago:
Definitely worse in Britain

This time 10 years ago:
Miracle on the Vistula

This time 11 years ago:

Collapsing footbridge on Puławska

This time 12 years ago:|
A new dimension to plane-spotting

This time 13 years ago:
One swallow does not a summer make