Garden, Recent Reading, Easter etc.

Life seems very surreal at the moment. Now D and E are not leaving home to go to work and I no longer do a food shop on certain days of the week I find it hard to keep track of what day of the week it is! The days just seem to merge into each other as I do some housework, washing, cooking, wandering round the garden, reading, watching i-player (I am re-watching all the "Line of Duty" episodes) and studying the lessons of a heraldry course I have found on Twitter. I should really start going through all the paperwork connected to my deputyship of mum's affairs for 7 years now her estate is finally settled. I plan to just keep just the most important pieces of information. But somehow it is hard to get motivated at the moment.


In the garden:

More violets (Common Dog Violet I think as they have a white spur) appear each day.

Ladybird (Harlequin I believe)

Acer leaves

Near the top of the garden by the wild flower "meadow" B cleared a border by the fence as he had to replace a fencing panel. It looks as though a lot of Red Campion plants have seeded there so there should be a lovely display in a few weeks.

Berberis

Grape Hyacinths

Amelanchier (last week - the blossom has faded now)

Garden robin

We have a solar pump in the pond which ferries water between the pond and a pool at the top of the rockery

where it then flows as a small waterfall

back to the pond.

Buds are appearing on Rhodendron

I've never been sure what this flower is.

Camellia with

leaf mines on some of the leaves.

Common/Smooth Newts are active in the pond - it is fascinating to watch their courtship rituals. A few record shots D took.

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Apologies again for poor quality of photo taken from the tv screen. A Blue Tit is making a nest in the nestbox with camera and is now taking in moss and feathers.

We have seen Dark-edged Bee flies in the garden and also more male and female Hairy-Footed Flower Bees. (Sorry no photos). Also no photos but towards the end of last week we had the first Brimstone, Holly Blue and Orange Tips of the year.




I finally found the missing colouring in books but the heraldry course I am doing at the moment involves some colouring in so I may not be using these at the moment.

As we rarely go out at bank holidays anyway Easter seemed reassuringly normal. I am thankful we had the ingredients for Easter baking and Easter Sunday lunch.


B made Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday

Ready to go in the oven

and ready to eat.

I finished knitting Daisy Duck and duckling. Not the best little toys I have made but they were so tiny and fiddly and I am not particularly good at the sewing up and making faces part.

Mediterranean Tart for Vegetarian Easter Lunch

Simnel Cake

Bluebells picked from the garden

Recent Reading

Robert MacFarlane has been kind enough to organise a Twitter Reading Group and The Living Mountain was the book chosen. I've had this in my bookcase for ages so it was a good reason to start reading it. I enjoyed it immensely although having only visited the Cairngorm area once many of the places were not familiar to me. So I pictured in my mind some of the Lake District fells as I read it.

I always enjoy Patrick Barker's writing although I did not enjoy this as much as Coastlines for a number of reasons - partly I think the anxiety we must all be feeling makes it harder to concentrate on non-fiction and, in addition, I had never visited any of the islands he writes about. I always think you enjoy a book like this more if you have been to at least some of the places mentioned.

I did start to read the next in the Wesley Peterson series - The Plague Maiden a few weeks ago but gave up after a few chapters as the subject matter reminded me too much of what is going at the moment. So I moved onto the next in the series which I loved.

I found this OS Puzzle Book lurking in the bookcase and as I love os maps I am really having fun with all the puzzles in this book. A good way to fill the hours and it is very absorbing.

I hope you are all staying safe and well. Take care everyone.



*D Photos taken by my son with the Canon SX50 HS bridge camera

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

Enjoying the Garden and Finding Things to do

I hope everyone is staying safe and well. I've been looking into some new activities to try and fill the hours each day now we are stuck at home.


Timothy has been brought out of the day-out rucksack so that he can come with me when I go for wanders round the garden.

We have plenty of eggs and butter, thank goodness, but supplies of plain, self-raising and strong white plain flour are diminishing. However, I did let my daughter bake this Butterscotch Traybake. Recipe courtesy of Mary Berry in her "Fast Cakes" book.

I have a collection of free kits given away in knitting magazines and am currently making the Easter Daisy Duck (photo top right of the pack).

My interest in Heraldry continues and on Twitter @LyonCourt's (a heraldry twitter feed) are providing links each day to heraldry sheets which include colouring in.

I did think of working through this book which has tuturials on painting flowers - although they look a bit complex. But I am making a sketch of blossom and fruits.

This is a painting OH started but never finished of Primroses.

I am trying to get some fresh air by walking round the garden each day. Today I have seen my first Dark-edged Bee Fly of the year and have also seen male and female Hairy-footed Flower Bees - no photos - I hadn't got my camera when I saw the Bee Fly and the flower bees were too fast for me.


Photos of some of the plants in flower in the garden


Dandelion

B's bay plants grown from cuttings I think.

Corydalis

Rosemary is flowering

Spirea or Bridal Wreath

Honesty

I am pleased to see Everlasting Wallflower (a perennial) has appeared again.

Camellias

Green Alkanet which appeared in the garden of its own accord - much loved by pollinators

Forget-me-Not

Blackthorn on the edge of the wooded area at the top of the garden which is behind the wild flower patch.

Timothy

Daffodils are still flowering

Pulmonaria

Wood anemones, primulas and Grape Hyacinth

Blossom - B bought this shrub for its autumn foliage although neither of us can remember its name!

We have Cowslips dotted round the garden.

Azaleas have buds appearing.

Lichen

Timothy enjoying the sunshine.

Timothy in his new home on one of the bookcases.

And a few more I took this morning

Wood Sorrel which mysteriously appeared in the garden is now in flower.

Violet growing out of one of the stone walls where I plan to plant my Wall Pennywort seeds.

Budburst on Silver Birch

Whitebeam

Rowan

Blossom again :) - Have picked a few sprigs for the hall.

I hope everyone has the happiest Easter they can in present circumstances.

Take care everyone and stay safe and well.


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