What a Beautiful Morning!

Victoria and Ben are upstairs packing so I thought I'd take a few minutes to walk Milly around the garden.  It is such a beautiful day - warm and sunny - and since it's supposed to be freezing next week I thought I'd take a few pictures before everything gets ruined!

The apple blossom is stunning at the moment

in fact, there are flowers blooming all over the place

Even the Rosemary is covered in pretty flowers for remembrance

The greenhouse is bulging

and this mum was looking after her triplets that were born yesterday afternoon - all three had to be pulled out because they were coming out the wrong way, but they are doing fine now.

On days like these all seems right in the world! 

A Bit of Colour

Well, that last post was very dark and grey - so time to inject a bit of colour!

Although we have had so little sun this summer, some of the flowers are putting on quite a show.

It's been such a good year for the roses, which are still going strong

and my hanging baskets are big and blousy

 

and the Dahlias are lovely but rather an Autumnal colour

 

The greenhouse has been really productive, with loads of tomatoes and a constant supply of cucumbers.



My sister came round yesterday (with a welcome bunch of garlic from her allotment) and we went down to the drier to see how things are coming along...it's the first day they've been harvesting for a week but the barn is filling up nicely

 

 

We took the boys down their tea and cake - Belinda couldn't get her head around driving with mugs of tea at her feet but it would be cold by the time I got there if we walked!

 

The swallows are still flying around - my nephew told me the adults fly south first leaving the fledglings to follow on later.  They perch on the workshop roof and then chase each other around the house.

and at night they roost in the nest they were born in, ignoring me going in and out the back door

The upside of all these cloudy days are the spectacular sunsets we have every evening - although they don't keep to their promise of sunshine the next day!



Late Spring....

The year is whizzing by again and now it is definitely late spring; lambing is finished, the cattle are out in the fields, and Barney and Big Boy have had a trim ready for summer

 

Nice and cool!

Our 60 ewe lambs are due to be shorn at 7.30 tomorrow morning, so I'll be helping Jonathan get them down from the hill this afternoon.

My six lambs are now able to feed independently off the rack, so I only take ten minutes to feed them

 

AND they have taken a liking to their creep feed so I can look forward to weaning them.

Time to turn to the garden and we have started sorting things out.  I have cleared up the raspberry patch and Jonathan uncovered the path to the greenhouse which had been so neglected I'd forgotten we had one

(path that is, not greenhouse).

Things in there are slowly coming along; toms, cucumbers, courgettes, beans and flower seedlings.

And, most importantly, Sandra and I have drawn up our summer schedule! 

We start with a primitive stitchery on Wednesday, and of course the Medallion course is continuing.  On Saturday 13th June we have a bunting party - get a gang of six friends together and make personalised bunting,

  on Wednesday 17th June we have Helen C teaching crochet

 

Saturday 20th June Helene B will be doing a Foundation Piecing class  (not as tiny as her usual work so good for Beginners)

1st July we will be experimenting with Pentagons - which could be described as the new hexagons!  We'll be doing lots of 'fussy cutting' so, like a kaleidoscope, new patterns emerge

Lynne Johnson will be giving another class on the Yoko Saito Town Quilt on the 8th July and then on the 15th July Sandra will be making lovely big bears

and the next week we have a bit of Christmas in July when we have the Advent Elf day.

So, busy, busy, busy!