Signs of spring

Even the last vestiges of snow-men in shady spots are gone now; and it was very warm after the central heating came on this morning -- enough to start me clambering out from under the 7-tog duvet before the alarm went off.

Driving, the roads are covered with gravel washed on by melt water or chewed by frost -- time to spot where pot-holes have been re-opened by the weather, and, worse, new ones gnawed by the freeze-thaw cycles.