British weather..................

Yesterday was hot , great for painting the back wall, Sarah is doing a brilliant job, & Ruby helped me paint the new wooden arbour. Most of the paint went on the wood, but some on her feet which she decided to paint green!
Today, no chance of painting, rain all day. apart from the garden and allotment heaving a sigh of relief at getting a drink at last, it has been a miserable day. But I was very tired so a rest was probably a good thing.

Backtracking to Scotland & the Lake District

The long awaited trip to a very wet North, not ventured into since teanage years. 4 nights in the lake Driatrict, stayed in youth hostels at Ambleside & Keswick. two very different hostels, Ambleside was cheery but Keswick a bit gloomy, never mind spent all day travelling round the area.
Plotted a route to see stone circles mostly also taking in anything that looked interesting on the way.

Swindale circle, on top of a hill, lonley, windswept, very atmospheric, noone else there, just mee & sheep. Long walk to get there all uphill & knackered me. I took loads of photos and waited ages for a sunny spell to move my way but it fizzeled out so pics are a bit gloomy.

The stones are all angles but still in there origonal places and lovely lichen patterns on some.

Next stop was a look at the sea. Very empty, and the water was CCCCCold.

Great selection of pebbles , collectes a load  and carried them in my socks. Patterns in the sand never fail to facinate me.

To be continued......

Sunday Sunday Sun Day..... Windy Day......Clouds!! what happened.

Sunny again, windy too, what to do? Garden a mess, lawn half scarified, jasmine snipped, all on the ground waiting to be cleared, then the lawn can be finished, well not actually finished, cleared of the moss, cut, fed, never ending, why have a lawn at all, too much bother, leave it to become a wildlife meadow? Oh yes that's what it is anyway, any chance of getting a good lawn is a dream. But the new scarifier is great, yanks all the moss out (then I have to clear it up, ugh). Maybe I'll just go out today and leave the mess till tomorrow, and the planting of all the plants I bought yesterday that won't actually fit into the garden, No cure for a plantoholic is there?

I think insanity has set in............... I was going for a river picnic but now it looks c****y

The day before tomorrow

Here we go again, decide to go on holiday and leave all the arrangements to the last moment, typical, I never learn. This time a mad rush to get truffle spayed before the cattery will have her, helps to have a friendly vet, so a few strings pulled. she is sitting curled up next to me on the sofa with no idea what tomorrow will bring............. sorry  Truff.

The week before Easter

Easter is a way point in the year, it's time to let rip for the summer, been doing that already really this year as Easter is so late. The sun has shown with voracity for ages now, so we could be in for a shock when it breaks. The garden & allotment are gasping for a drink (as I am, but mine is for a cool Chardonnay). After an exhausting morning at the allotment Sarah, Ruby & I spent the rest of the afternoon having a lazy lunch in the 'woodland' at the end of the garden, with a bottle of rose. Lets hope for more lazy times like that.

This is the woodland,taken a little while ago, the table is now on he decking for the summer,  bit of a misnomer as only a border under the apple tree, now have a summerhouse just to the right. The old dinghy was rescued from the sailing club bonfire and now has a blackbird nesting inside, the base will have a log pile for beasties to live in.

Our blackbirds, taken by shoving the camera up under the  deck, while mum was away.

Silly faces!

Truffle in the jungle, first time she has been at the end of the garden, still very wary.

Later today Tanya & Seb are coming for lunch, forgot to go shopping so it will be a scrap / out of tins meal .... oooops, better get inventing quick.

It's that sunny Sunday feeling again.

Wow, an amazingly hot week, even got a bit sunburnt on the allotment, but Sunday was sailing day, OK taking photos of other people sailing, went to BASC at Saltford to watch the CVRDA meeting, not much action but lots of lovely reflections. met a few old friends, had a nice lunch, bit of a chat, best way to unwind after a hard week gardening, and a day shopping for baby stuff with Tango on Saturday.

Couple of old Dutch barges came past causing havoc ,boats that have engines & go in straight lines don't have a clue that dinghies with wind power have to tack, result..... interesting. Actually the old barges were OK  it was the hired narrowboats post lunch at the pub next door that caused all the problems, 3 set off at once right down the middle of the river, Rules say 'keep to th right'.

Link to more pics here......  http://s673.photobucket.com/albums/vv96/Meryl1cat_album/CVRDA%20at%20BASC%202011/?albumview=slideshow

Will backtrack later on the allotment progress when I put some stuff onto photobucket.

Shorts and sandels!

First time that my legs & toes came out today, it got so hot pulling up the rampaging  ivy. Even got the solar pond pump going, have to keep moving the solar panel as the sun ducks behind the trees.
So my pond and patio are going to be the in lunch spot for this year, sound of trickling water and a glimpse of the hardy dozen fish that survived the horrible winter, (grizzly task of hoicking out dead fish, ugh).
Will get some photos loaded soon, all the flowers are starting to peep out, saw the first hardy geranium yesterday, some tulips, the Chaenomeles is the only red note, a sign of summer to come.

It has been a fantastic bright day, topped off with a midge infested trip to the river for some early season pics, then a dose of appalachian dancing.

Had an interesting and surprising phone call from someone I haven't seen or spoken to since 1974!!!! wanted some contacts from college days.

Saturday will be baby shopping with Tango and Little Squirt, exciting, looking forward to that.