The big news from the nature reserve this week is that the tadpoles have hatched. Last week we had frogspawn; this week we have tadpoles! They’re difficult to see, since they’re about the same colour as the bottom of the pond. Midday was the best time of day to see them. At the ends of the day I mostly saw the reflection of trees round about the pond. And it was impossible to take their photo! Anna and I also saw some peacock butterflies, which also moved too fast to be captured in a photo. But there were some things that stood still.

My own vegetable patch (top left) has been planted: potatoes, onions, leeks, and beets. Carrots, radishes, and salad greens are in big pots, and the tomatoes are in small, plantable pots. We’ll see. I’ve never had much luck with tomatoes on this side of the Atlantic. The sheep are self-explanatory, and I’m not sure what is flowering in the top right corner. Ditto for the weed with the lovely flowers in the next row.

I think the budding tree might be a sycamore, the one without any leaves is an alder (another late leafer), and the last is a willow, of course. The bird is a bullfinch, unless I am mistaken.

Apart from the forget-me-nots, the flowers are all in my front garden. I planted some bulbs in December, and I’m very glad I did. It has been great to watch them grow, and satisfying, since I am not good at growing anything I can’t eat.

The odd one out is the pizza. But it is a family favourite, all made from scratch and cooked at ridiculously high temperatures on Lewis’s Big Green Egg. Pizza night was Maundy Thursday. We joined the Dominicans at Blackfriars in Oxford for the Mass, and we will tune in again tonight for the Vigil.

This week I have watched the death toll rise and feared for all the vulnerable. There are no words.

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous, and all for your love’s sake.