Hope

Another busy day, with only ten minutes at lunch time to hunt for a blip.

Today, Ben, my youngest had his last home-education visit. Our local authority likes to visit home educators every year or so, to make sure everything's going OK. Although we have been home educating successfully for over thirteeen years, these visits are always slightly stressful - especially when a new member of staff takes over. The lady who visited today was really lovely - very open minded and quite critical of aspects of the formal education system. Ben isn't usually too comfortable with strangers, but he soon warmed to her, and we were quite sorry when she had to leave. She was very impressed with the work he'd covered, which really pleased him (he's inclined to be self-critical). It was lovely that his last visit was such a positive experience.

The photograph is of the bud of a shrub called Viburnum x bodnatense 'Dawn'.The RHS says 'This beautiful hybrid, is a deciduous shrub with burnished bronze foliage in autumn and exquisitely fragrant flowers from late autumn into early spring. It earns its place in any garden, as it flowers freely all winter. The flowering season is usually stated to be from mid-October until March, but the dense clusters of sweetly scented, rose-tinted flowers often start appearing earlier while the leaves are still on, and can continue past Easter. In mild spells it is a spectacular sight, very cheering on a winter's day. The flowers are generally frost resistant but even if they do get frosted, more soon open within a few days.' Our bush grows near the patio, where we can appreciate the scent, and the pink flowers certainly provide a hopeful sight in the dark days of winter.

Probably best viewed large.