Recent Reading, Knitting and in the Garden

 

Recent Reading

A combination of wet weather followed by cold weather plus a cold that has spread through the family means I still haven't managed to get out to look for snowdrops. Reading has been my main occupation!

I enjoyed the second book in the Dartmoor series more than the first. It has a very dramatic ending, full of action, if a trifle far fetched!!

This was a lovely book to read full of sketches by the author's grandfather. It was a good find in "Books Revisited" Coleshill.

I am still enjoying the Mitchell and Markby books.

Knitting

Its taken ages but I have finally finished my "cappuccino" jumper. It the same pattern I used before knitted in chunky yarn but I made the body and sleeve lengths shorter this time.

I'm now knitting my son a jumper in extra chunky yarn which is proving a bit laborious as the 10mm needles are quite long and seem cumbersome to use.

Garden

The winter leaf salad is growing well and the pot before it contains garlic planted by D last autumn.

There is not much in flower in the garden - Bergenia, Winter Jasmine and Wild Primroses have buds. No sign of any Snowdrops yet but it is always February when they appear here.

The colder weather has brought more birds to the feeders including the Ring-Necked Parakeets, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a female Chaffinch. Like many of you I will be doing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend and I look forward to reading what others have seen.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

Reading, Dragonfly, Knitting and Back to Herefordshire Part 1: Jubilee Afternoon Tea Pary

 

Recent Reading

The "Guilty Ones" is book 4 in the Jackman and Evans series and it was brilliant and totally gripping. 

This Shire book was excellent and a great read if, like me, you want to know more about timber framed buildings. I got the idea of visiting Leigh Court Barn from this book. Ideally I would prefer to have the "proper" book and if I see it anywhere I will buy it.

I think it was Caroline from the "Wild and Wonderful" blog who recommended this book and I think Rosie from "Corners of my Mind" has read it too.  The author was awarded for this book The Women's Prize for fiction 2020.  The book was inspired by Shakespeare's son Hamnet who gave his name to one of the playwright's plays. I found it poignant as Hamnet's twin sister goes down with the plague and Hamnet catches the disease too.  I won't reveal any more but it is a good book.

I re-read Miss Read's books at bedtime when I am struggling to get a decent night's sleep. There is something quite comforting about them.

The next in the Mitchell and Markby series. I enjoy these books - set in the Cotswolds and the plots have lots of twists and turns.

I tend to knit if I watch tv and to be honest had got fed up with knitting hats and scarves - there are only so many you can wear and of course you have to store them!!!  Years ago I used to make simple jumpers but I am ashamed to say I used to get my mother to finish the neck if you had to pick up stitches and to sew them up.  Mom is no longer with us and for 10 years before she died she had alzheimer's and her eyesight was poor so sewing up my jumpers was not an option.  Early this year I decided to have a go at a simple jumper even though I had to pick up the dreaded stitches. It took me over 3 months and here's the result which I am quite pleased with.

Garden Dragonflies

A Broad-bodied Chaser which is a garden "tick". A female I think.

Herefordshire

E's on holiday from work this week and wanted to visit the caravan for a few days and as there was a Jubilee Afternoon Tea Party at the site on Saturday afternoon we travelled Friday evening picking her up from work on the way and arriving just before 8.00.

On Saturday morning B and D fetched a Morrison's Click and Collect from Leominster and stopped off in the town centre. I wasn't with them so the photos are D's.

*D

*D

*D

*D

The caravan site used to have a yearly Summer barbecue which we have never been to as no events have been held due to the pandemic so the Jubilee Afternoon Tea party was the first event in several years.  To be honest I was quite nervous especially as I haven't mixed socially with people since 2019!

People were asked to bring cakes or savouries so I bought some mini Afternoon Tea cakes and made a ginger traybake (like parkin). Emily in the week made a Strawberry and Lemonade Cake (a recipe in BBC Good Food Magazine) which we froze and then she decorated it on the Saturday morning.

There was a prize for the most patriotic caravan (we didn't win!) but B and D put some bunting and flags up on the Friday night.  To be honest I would not call any of us royalists by any stretch of the imagination but I think the Queen is to be admired for her unstinting years of loyalty and duty.

The cakes we took - note we had already eaten a lot of the gingerbread!

*D

The party took place in the walled garden, lasted for 3 hours, and the time went quick. The site owners had done a super job organising it all and there was a table tennis table where B and I played several games and a royal quiz.  There was a lot of food. To be honest we didn't mingle much as most people were sat in groups with friends and family which for me was a relief especially as I don't hear that well these days.

*D

*D

I want one of these postboxes!!!!!

*D

Before we leave the Jubilee a couple of photos of a postbox I saw in Solihull a few weeks ago with a crocheted topper.

Final photo - the Herefordshire Oak

On Sunday D and I went to Bromyard to see the Scarecrow Festival but I will leave that until the next post.

Photos taken by me with the Panasonic Bridge Lumix FZ330 bridge camera and photos marked *D taken by D with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera.  (if anyone wishes to use any of  my photos or my son's I would be grateful if you could email me first - thanks)

Recent Reading and Knitting etc

 

"Matilda Lady of Hay" is another Logaston Press book. A non fiction book detailing the life of Matilda. A fascinating subject and book. I wanted to read it before I re-read "Lady of Hay" by Barbara Erskine.  I am hoping next year we will travel further afield in Herefordshire and Hay on Wye is a must to visit.

I really wanted to buy Secret Britain for myself but as son wanted it for his birthday I've since read his copy.  A superb book which is a gazeteer of fascinating archaelogical sites and artefacts full of great photos.

I am really enjoying this Jackman and Evans series by Joy Ellis.

I think "The Devil's Edge" is probably the best so far in the Cooper and Fry series and SO good to see Ben Cooper promoted but will he marry Liz?  Will be interesting to see. 

I found you could buy another Miss Read story on Fairacre - a nice bit of "comfort" reading :)

A re-reading of the Merrily Watkins second story by Phil Rickman. I had forgotten how scary they were which meant I reverted to "A Peaceful Retirement" nearer bedtime!!!

The Christmas Cactus in the porch is flowering early!

D bought this Christmas Tree Advent Calendar last year complete with the chocolates.  Easy to re-use though just buy another Chocolate Orange and box of Ferrero Rocher!

My advent calendar this year is one by Angela Harding - sorry for the under exposed photo!

I've found a good beanie hat knitting pattern.  The one on the right goes with the scarf I knitted below in chunky yarn wool and the creamy one on the left made with double knitting wool (I followed same pattern but just cast on more stitches) matches a scarf I already have with the same wool. As there is some wool left over I'm now knitting a lacy scarf!

To be honest I am prevaricating as I bought more of the sea blue/green chunky wool and a pattern to make a jumper and I am putting of starting it.  I am ashamed to say I haven't made a jumper since mum was alive and well enough to sew it up for me and pick up stitches for me to do the neck of the jumper!

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.

All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera.

More of "This and That" !!!

Another post about reading, baking and garden wildlife etc!


Recent Reading


This book has been in the "To Be Read Pile" for ages. To be honest I thought it was about geology whereas it is more about the geography of the British Isles but I did enjoy it and there is a fun quiz to do at the end.

Treated myself to this for the Kindle and loved it. This series has just got better and better although there is a bit of a gap in years between the last book and this one.

Garden Wildlife and Flowers


Perennial Cornflower

Two varieties of Cranesbill Geranium are now flowering. The first blue one is much loved by bees and the second one flowers all summer. In fact, I might try deadheading the blue one once the flowers have finished in the hope it will flower some more.

London Pride

Lily of the Valley - sorry rubbish photo but that border is overgrown with brambles and I couldn't get any closer

Lilac

More and more Red Campion flowers are appearing in the border where it has self-seeded.

Rhododendron - we just have the one. I must admit I am not overkeen on them but the flowers are pretty and the bees seem to enjoy them.

Rowan is in flower

Aquilegias/Columbine/Granny's Bonnet have self seeded in the front garden.

Blossom in the wooded area - I can't get close enough to id as the path into the "wood" is covered in brambles and nettles at the moment!

Whitebeam in flower

Ribwort Plantain

Tellima grandiflora or Fringe Cups. Sorry Dean I had forgotten we had this in the garden when I saw your photo. I spotted this at Brueton Park on a public footpath some years ago and someone very kindly identified it for me and even gave me a plant. So thank you Tony if you ever visit the blog.

Climbing Hydrangea coming into flower on the patio - E thinks robins are nesting there.

Valerian

Holly Berries!

Star of Bethlehem

The kettle you can see in the arch was once used by robins as a nesting site. In those days the arch was completely covered in "Mile a Minute". To be honest I rather liked it but B thought it had got out of control and replaced it with a clematis which is only just starting to grow!

I put out the moth trap on Thursday evening - min temp 11.1 but there was a Full Moon and no moths were caught just a Caddis Fly.

New species for the garden include - Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata), Tree and Early Bumble Bees and Leaf Cutter Bee.


There are 8 Blue Tit eggs and the female is still incubating - they may hatch in a week or so. Fingers crossed!






One lone Nasturtium seedling

and Sweet Pea seedlings are appearing.

No sign of the sunflowers or wall pennywort germinating and sadly we lost all the rose cuttings we took from my mum's garden last autumn even though a couple did have shoots. Perhaps we should have put them outside rather than in the porch. B has kept one that looked more alive than the rest so one can but hope.


Cooking

Mushroom Curry for tea and

E made some Chewy Almond Flapjacks from Mary Berry's Fast Cakes book

Thanks again to Sarah - the flour has arrived from Shipton Mill.



Knitting

I've been knitting a little owl and finally finished sewing it up yesterday.

Rainbow last night

A few more pages from the little journal. Warning if you don't like spiders don't go past the first two photos or look at the last photo in the blog post.

I found this spider in the moth trap when I was putting it back together - I think it may be Steatoda bipunctuata sometimes called The Rabbit Hutch Spider - common in animal pens, sheds and garages. There were some cocoony type things nearby (eggs or young??) so I put the spider and the cocoons together near the greenhouse.

I hope everyone is coping with the "stay at home" rule and you are all safe and well. Take care everyone.



All photos taken by me with the Panasonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera