Today was mild and sunny, so I got the year's outdoor sowings off to an early start with some "Early Nantes 2" carrots. I've sown them in small patches and covered them with home-made mini-cloches made from 2l coke bottles with the bottoms cut off. Not very elegant, but they will warm the soil during the day and protect the new seedlings from frost at night. Then I sat in the sun, watching the chickens :)