I was driving from home up through the midlands on Monday morning and the countryside was looking wonderful. It was a cool but sunny morning and the fresh grass was glinting silver green in the bright sunlight. Herds of cows and cattle looked happy to be outdoors and were already lying down and chewing the cud.

The sycamores were in full leaf and the beech trees and hedges were beginning to show. The blackthorn added a dash of colour and this was heightened by the cherry blossom which is getting a great run this year. It’s a tree we don’t have in the garden at home because it’s only good for a couple of weeks in April and early May. If the weather is bad then they are done for but if it’s good, well, then they are just glorious.

The daffodils are also on a good run and we’ve had them in flower since the end of February and there’s another week or two in them yet. Years ago I put a lot of time into planting daffodil bulbs along our lane and it’s paid off with a great show. I’ve mixed early and mid-season varieties so the flowering season is well extended. On Sunday I deadheaded those that had gone over, which really freshened up the clumps.

Last autumn I planted a couple of dozen tulips in a flower bed in front of the house and it didn’t take me long to discover that something was digging up and stealing the bulbs. I reckoned about half of them were gone but I got that wrong – there isn’t a tulip to be had in the place. Next autumn they will have to be planted much deeper and we’ll see how that works.

Saturday morning saw the arrival of the swifts. I was washing windows when three or four of them swooped in at lightning speed. How they don’t smash themselves against the house is beyond me. I thought they’d be exhausted after their long migration from South Africa but not a bit of it as they swooped and dived and chattered among themselves.

They have arrived a week to 10 days earlier than usual with us, so maybe they know more about the weather than we do. Usually the cuckoo isn’t too far behind and that’s a visitor I’ll be watching out for with interest.

Ever since I moved to Shanagolden we’ve had what you could call a resident cuckoo and you’d be mesmerised by his call. I took him for granted and it was only when my late mother made coming to hear the cuckoo her annual pilgrimage to Limerick that I sat up and paid attention. Hearing the cuckoo call on an early summer’s morning is, for me, one of the real pleasures of life.

Then last year while we did hear the cuckoo on many occasions, it was much fainter and further away. So I’m hoping for the return of our resident cuckoo in a couple of weeks.

Finally, a word of congratulations to the Tidy Towns groups, the volunteers and CE scheme participants who make so many villages a pleasure a visit. On my drive up to Birr I was really impressed by Ballingarry and well done to whoever is doing all the lawnmowing – it’s a credit to you. CL