The first part of May was dry but spoilt by easterly winds which kept the edge of the temperatures.  The first of the cows came over to our side of the road and one afternoon we took advantage of the nice weather and did a short walk in Deep Dale to admire the orchids and cowslips.  The milk cows also started coming out in the evenings. The area was probably at its greenest but There was concern at the lack of rain.  By mid month the rain returned and it turned cooler before another warm spell leading up to the Spring Bank Holiday weekend.  Silaging had also started in the area and the sheep at the Cowden Farms were shorn for the summer.  The first part of the Bank Holiday weekend was fine and on the Saturday we attended the wedding of Fay, Andrew and Joanna’s daughter , at a local hotel.  Luckily the forecasted rain held off.  On the Sunday I took advantage of the nice day to start planting out bedding plants but the Monday was a washout being cool and misty.  We collected the hanging baskets from the nursery so we have some colour back in the courtyard.

May weather statistics. Highest temp 23.7C on 25th and lowest 3.9C on 10th.  Warmest day and night was 25th with coldest day 9th and 8th coldest night.  Wettest day 17th with .34in rain.  Total May 2017 was 1.67 inches compared to 2.17 inches in May 2016.