Chocolate and Fudge (take 2)

I've made another batch of fudge (a birthday present), and what promises to be a very tasty 'Egyptian chocolate cake' (a birthday cake). I'll let you know whether it lives up to its promise.

It's been very warm and bright, so I've been round with the hose, too. The raspberries are (finally) showing some sign of life: several of them appear to have new canes coming up alongside last year's bare-rooted cane. One of the gooseberries is looking unhappy (that is, no leaves), and one's a bit lack-lustre, but the others all seem to be doing well. Quite a few strawberries now have flowers, and I think the total body-count is only seven, which means some 68 or so survived the delivery and very cold winter.

I'm enjoying the evolution of the acer in the front: it's gone from red, through orange, and is now a greeny-yellow, as the leaves near their summer hue. The blackthorn (sloe) blossoms on the hillside have gone over, but they've been replaced by apple flowers. Our apple is also flowering: striking pink, which are fading to white. Oh; I've found a useful identification tool which may help me work out what the putative cherry near the daffodils is.

Having ruminated on it for a bit, I've ordered the necessary parts to irrigate the fruit & veg beds. I did go with Hozelock components, and found a good price for them. Don't know when I'll get round to installing it, yet, mind!