Of Mellow Mists And Fruitfulness

 I'd never make it as a serious blogger that's for sure...But my life has been full of all sorts of goings on of late...Though it seems to have been mainly work there have been other doings as well...Such as bringing in the harvests...

 

Of both food...

 

 

And fuel... 

I have yet to make any jams or chutney, but this week hopefully should see the first jars being produced.

We took the grandchildren and their parents (that live next door) to a mill for a visit the weekend before last...

Realising that the Mini Run was taking place we made a stop on the way to see them pass...

Which for a time I thought might have been a mistake as we were then stuck in the traffic that 200 plus Minis caused!

However just as I was beginning to get frustrated I reminded myself that it was all for a good cause...The local Children's Hospice South West.

Sadly the mill wasn't in operation the day we visited...we did however enjoy the treat of a sumptuous cream tea...though we were visited by the Millers' bees as well as some local wasps, all eager to share our sweet treat.

Our weather appears to have cheered up drastically and rather shamefully I found myself complaining about the heat over the past couple of days more than once...Whereas only last week I was berating the fact it was so cold and miserable I had lit the fire...can't win either way I suppose. 

The morning has dawned rather overcast, however the forecast remains set for wall to wall sunshine.

After tea last evening I started the mammoth task of cutting back the garden...making a start on one side of the steps, there is such a pile of cuttings that I'm not quite sure what to do with it all just yet. The choices being, chip it up for compost, or lay out some of the woodier bits to dry and then use as fuel. Son in law said he has seen a second hand wood chipper for sale locally and he was going to ask if it was still available. I'm feeling rather lazy today and have to work later so the pile may well stay as just that for today at least.

Have just had notification from Wilbur's tracker so I'd better see if he needs breakfast.

Blessings, J. x

Snap Happy

Today has been all about restful pursuits...as in soaking up some vitamin D...

Some tentative attempts at dehydrating...

Pegging out...

Taking a woodland walk...

Tea by the beach... 

Now some feet up time on the sofa...

Bliss..

Japanese Anemones in the garden...

Elderberries ripening there too...

Down the lane I found this little beauty...

And this one...

Looking up...

And around...

Didn't manage to pick many blackberries on my walk though...

Think this may be a wild rose burr...

I always feel at home in this part of the woodland...I believe the stone used to make our cottage was from this place 200 years ago...

Finally the sun over the water...not a bad place to eat fish and chips...

Blessings, J. x

The Deed Has Been Done

Well how time flies...youngest married her caveman nearly two weeks ago and had a party to celebrate just over one week ago...we are still in clear up and recovery mode.

Both events were plagued by rather unseasonal weather...standing on a cliff top trying to beat the next shower in strong winds really made that visit to the hairdresser a bit of a waste of time...even so both days turned out to be lovely seeing family and friends and celebrating with the newlyweds.

One newly married young lady!

Daughter in law to be made and assembled the cake... son made the flowers! Not the traditional cake decoration...but very apt for the couple...

Flowers from our garden adorned the tables...

 The first welcome drinks ready to go...

And then we partied...and I unashamedly changed into a pair of comfortable trainers and danced the night away!!

Hope to be back soon...but life is very hectic at the moment and quite frankly I'm shattered!

Blessings, J. x

Just Messing

 

Wedding Preparations

It's how many weeks left until the big day...please don't tell me...not enough for all the things we want to achieve beforehand. However just like Christmas the day will come and the day will go and what shall be shall be. The shed has a roof, walls, a floor, windows and a door. The band and disco are booked. The catering is booked. Photography sorted. Invites all out and replied to. Well some didn't bother! My dress is hopefully being delivered today. Not the dress I had thought of wearing. I decided that the one I had I'd be too comfortable getting the groceries in. Not acceptable for a Mother of the Bride role. Pretty bits...under construction. Flowers, what the slugs haven't eaten and the wind hasn't wrecked will have to do. Table cloths...some to make. Dishes to take to the caterer. Some ingredients also to take to her. Cart to be painted. Paint arriving today. Marquee to erect...not yet and depending upon the weather how close to the event it gets put up. The toilets...posh ones...should be arriving the day before the party. Only electricity needed. I hope they provide toilet rolls...they're costing an absolute fortune. Some comfortable chairs and sofas...begged borrowed and stolen from various places to go into the marquee for the people who want to relax away from the noise in the shed.

And breathe...

Last evening I used the pressure element of my pressure canner for the very first time. Before I have just done things that had enough acid content to water bath can. I admit to being a little scared, however am pleased to report that nothing blew up! We now hopefully have some shelf stable Runner and French beans.

Venting before popping on the pressure weight...

Pressure weight on!..

Beans cooling...

And relax...this rose smells lovely...

Blessings, J. x

Blessed Fruit Flies

 How time has flown. We have been lucky enough to have been blessed with decent crops of broad beans, peas, sugar snap peas, lettuce, strawberries and now tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries. The french beans are not too far behind, and we've just finished our first row of potatoes.

Lovely, but it is rather time consuming picking, podding and hulling each day. It feels good to have been eating so much fresh produce from our own garden and stashing the rest away for a rainy day...after the children have bagged what they want.

The grandchildren seem to be growing like weeds, and the eldest saw fit to cut his own fringe the other day...a mere six weeks before his Aunties' wedding!

Suffice to say it's all been a bit hectic around here...lovely but hectic.

Haven't had much time...well any time for photography, but did snap some of the current blooms in the garden a day or two ago.

Hopefully there will be something to pick for our daughters' wedding in a few weeks time...

I think I will be able to say yes to the dress I bought in a knock down sale some time ago. I really like it but at the time it didn't fit. Thanks to a few weeks of cutting out the crap from my diet I can now get it on. I could do with losing a few more pounds which would certainly help the dress fit better and so I intend to continue to eat copious amounts of healthy foods...not a single calorie has been counted, but crisps, cake and bread have been off the menu!!

Oh yes fruit flies...pesky little blighters...we have been inundated with them this past week. I have placed some mango peel and water in a pint glass and covered it with cling film, then made a small hole in the top. Have so far caught literally dozens. Yuck.

Blessings, J. x

Enjoying the Sunshine

One way and another we have enjoyed the fine weather that has been with us for the past couple of weeks, despite the regular appearance of an East/North East wind. Now our garden is beginning to mature there are some places to sit away from such inconveniences!

The moon rose with splendour on Saturday evening...

Kitty bird watching I think....

This Weigela is a self seeded beauty...possibly crossing from Bristol Ruby and a variegated form I have...

Rose Iceberg makes a perfect partner...

Taken from a lovely spot to sit...

Anyway...the above probably explains why our home is less than guest ready at the moment. I really don't enjoy being in when it is so lovely outside. Once a week I do a twelve and a half hour shift at the hospital, and kind of hope that it will be not quite such good weather that day! I have made myself a list of jobs needing doing for each day I'm home this week. However I moved our old patio (heavy) set from the garden to the patio and the newer smaller (lighter) set up to the garden...all apart from the table going up the steps...hubby was engrossed in his vegetable patch and to be fair I hadn't asked for his help. So today I'm feeling in touch with some muscles I've not noticed existed for a quite a while!

Miss Kitty helped herself to some grasses that I'd put in Arthurs' cage for him and one must have become lodged somewhere. On Friday evening she was gagging, then she managed to bring up two of the seeds with some food. I was going to take her to the vet on Saturday morning, however she was purring, ate a huge bowl of food and drunk well so I just kept an eye and thankfully she seems recovered...maybe with not an ounce more sense than before, but recovered none the less.

Hope life is treating you all well...I will catch up in due course, however today I really must clean our bedroom and kitchen windows...they are quite a disgrace!

Blessings. J. x