Spring flowers, jam and a Red Squirrel.

I couldn't resist picking a few stems of these Tete a Tete narcissii and the scent has lingered in the house all week. 

And this is the precious Jam of the title - Kea Plum Jam, to be precise. Kea Plums were discovered growing by the Fal estuary near the village of Kea over 400 years ago and were harvested from the trees overhanging the river by being literally shaken into boats.
I had my first taste of this delicious jam last year when a fellow blogger and friend gave me a small jar when we met for the first time. WOW!  The taste is out of this world, like no other jam or posh preserve I've ever tasted  - so good that I asked Elizabeth to buy more on my behalf when next she saw the lady who makes it and sells it.
So now I have three jars . . . . . .

 . . . . because last week we met up again, in Trewithen Gardens, between St Austell and Truro.
 The drive doesn't look very Spring-like in this photo, does it?

The sudden appearance of the sun highlighted all the daffodils and celandines to give a very different impression.

Trewithen is at its best in the Spring - and is also dog-friendly, so I was able to take Zac along as well, although he wasn't too keen on the gravel paths on his tender feet!
But we enjoyed the Azaleas, Magnolias and Rhododendrons all in full flower and looking spectacular on this (mainly) sunny day.

And then a bit of a puzzle - we came upon a wire enclosure containing some conifer branches; it looked deserted but a notice said that it contained one male and two female Red Squirrels and that last year they had reared two kits and were showing signs of preparing a drey again.
So we peered into the branches . . . . . but without seeing any sign of them.  Then just as we were walking away I spotted one, sitting in a wire extension that wound around the main enclosure.  I managed just one photo, but as I tried to get a better angle, he/she disappeared out of sight.

I'm still thinking that it seemed a strange thing to find in the middle of a Cornish garden.

We ended our visit in the very pleasant little Tea Room where we enjoyed a restorative coffee each and a light lunch. Oh - and of course a small purchase from the nursery area! It would have been rude not to, wouldn't it?