I've made my first cookie cutter

But when it's not storming we've been getting on with wintery task such as crown lifting the beech in the spring garden and renovating lilacs. Our lilacs are old and woody and it was time to be ruthless for their sake (and ours). We've taken all the oldest stems right back to a foot or so above ground. It's a good idea if your lilac is very overgrown to stagger this sort of renovation work, as the new growth doesn't tend to flower for another three years. You'll often find the new growth is very vigorous and it will need to be thinned (in late spring/early summer) to maintain an attractive shape. An old, woody lilac can be transformed into something youthful in just a few cuts.  So if you like your lilac but not that its taking up too much space, now the time to get at it.
We've got fencing to fix this afternoon--a good warming job for such a day. That and I have the inevitable bicycle woes that always appear all at once, just at the point when you're contemplating becoming a fair weather cyclist. I'm not sure how many frozen, wet journeys Isabel and I can take. By the time I get to the train I'm so bundled in scarves, waterproofs, two pairs of gloves and the dog is only visible by her nose under her many blankets that we are quite the comedy duo.Still all the amaryllis are poking their heads up in the greenhouse and the first of the daffodil leaves are emerging, which means it can't be that cold and I should get on and do some work.