Dog Days of Summer

The last few days really have felt like the Dog Days of Summer.  The weather is muggy, or raining, so the combine has been sitting around doing nothing.  The weather forecast has been really unreliable, so there's no planning anything in advance.  The grain is too wet to harvest, but then the sun comes out so it may be dry enough later in the day...but then it isn't.  On and on.

George was pleased because the pause in work meant we could go and get his Jimny - his first truck!

I have been mainly fascinated by the activity of the birds.  On Wednesday night I had noticed the swallows tidying up their nests in the porch, which I thought was odd.  Now I think they were tidying up before flying south.  Then on Thursday it was like being in an Alfred Hitchcock film - there were birds everywhere. All the starlings were lined up on our roof

and then flying around the house

and the swallows were everywhere.  Lined up on fences

and I could get within 3 feet of them.  These were two young ones - their parents kept swooping down with food for them

 

on the greenhouse roof

 

 

on our roof

 

and ducking and diving all around

too fast for me to take any decent pictures.

Anyway, when I wasn't running around taking pictures, I was making the Autumn primitive stitchery ready for our workshops next term

 

Gardening and tweed

We were so inspired by all the beautiful gardens in France (because it was warmer there they were about 3 weeks ahead of us) that since we got back we have been working like Trojans outside.

I have planted up all my pots outside the kitchen with seedlings from the greenhouse - Cosmos, Snapdragons and Nicotiana - all lovely old fashioned plants with lovely scents

can't wait for them to really get going.

So the greenhouse is pretty empty now with just the cucumbers and tomatoes which are coming along really nicely

We (mostly Jonathan) dug over the beds and the veg is in as well as my dried flower seedlings (Statice and strawflowers)

I hope they grow well.  I like to replace the bunches I have hanging in my kitchen every year but last year was such a disaster I couldn't.

I am pleased with my herb garden although Jonathan says it's a mess

There is Sage, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, mint, Oregano, Tarragon and Nasturtium.

We missed the peonies at their best

but my Iris and Lily of the Valley have looked lovely

Fingers crossed all our hard work will show results.  Unfortunately it is a constant battle to protect everything.  Besides the crows, rabbits and pigeons which do their best to destroy everything, we also have Reuben to contend with.  Yesterday he kindly opened the gate so my 7 lambs ran amok and ate two of my bean plants before I managed to get them back in their run.

When we went to the Malvern Quilt show I was really inspired by the  Donegal Tweed stand.  Margaret  Lee was there and she'd made a quilt of Tweed and cotton.  I'd never Considered mixing the two fabrics but thought the quilt was beautiful.  She showed me the pattern in the February Patchwork and Quilting magazine (and then gave me her copy when I couldn't buy one)  and I bought some tweed off her stand - www.fabricaffair.co.uk and then came home and started making it!

I love the colours and the mix of textures - it's going to be such a cosy quilt.  This is the magazine article

Better get outside now but am very happy to see our swallows have returned and are renovating their nests in our back porch.