genialgemsandothergabblings

These are the photos I tried to put up the other day but the site crashed. Sorry about that folks! Well it has gone decidedly on the chilly and damp side this week and while the plants might love it I certainly don't.The poor old flowers are being blown all over the place and the brightness of the Tulips has given way to rather softer colours as the summer shrubs begin to flower. Some of my favoutite flowers are Lady's Bonnets, as we called them when young children and we had many growing in our garden beside the sea at Corton. However Columbines or Aquilegias are the move approved title. They come up year after year with no problems and then drop their seeds for free plants the next year. The Blackbird was so pleased to have successfully raised her brood in the privet hedge that she is back on it again for second go and the Starlings nesting under the roof tiles have flown the nest too. The Hedgehog was at the backdoor tonight waiting for his biscuits so I guess the back ...

The garden full of Spring flowers Balloon over our back garden on Tuesday evening ' Listen , I heard mum  coming back'. She's taking her time ' At Last ..whatcha  got Mum? Open wide  you'll like this! So many mouths to feed. 'Oh well they will be leaving home soon! The weather has gone mad, it's more like June than April and its far too nice to stay indoors so the garden is having a fair bit of attention paid to it at the moment. The Blackbird has been so busy and I have a feeling she is doing all the feeding of her young by herself as I  have seen no sign of Mr B, perhaps something has happened to him. She seems so unafraid of me and I was amazed that she did not bother at all as I took these photos of her in the privet hedge. I do hope they all manage to survive but with us having the cats I am always worried until they can fly ! It has been perfect Balloning weather and we often see them nearby on calm sunny evenings . I know how great it...

Milo My Blue Poppy Seeds seeds and  more seeds Radish and Turnips Flowering cherry Ollie chillin! Innocent .. I am not What a really lovely weekend we all enjoyed and we made the most of it by having a family BBQ down near the summerhouse . The garden was looking at its Springtime best and Pete's mum was throughly enjoying going into my Greenhouse to see what she could take back with her to Liverpool and her own small backyard . She loves the little splash of colour that comes alive every spring in her many pots. I am so pleased that finally I have in my own garden, a Himalayan Blue Poppy and it seems to like where I have situated it ,under the apple tree area in semi shade.  I first saw one growing in a garden we visited in Scotland. They are getting easier to find in garden nurseries but can be a price. I just hope I  can keep it going. My little veg plot is underway with a few lettuce radish and turnips, I am not going to grow a lot but a few sala...

Spark Bridge Terrace at Brantwood Over Coniston Lake Walney Island near Barrow From Brantwood across Coniston Teatime with a view at Brantwood. cheeky robin who liked our cakes! Nella Last's home in Barrow from where  she wrote her wartime diaries. How time flies, can it really be a week since we returned from a short break up in the Lake District. The weather could not have been better and we made the most of the glorious sunshine and clear blue skies and explored the area around Ulverston and Barrow. I have been reading and throughly enjoying the wartime diaries of Nella Last,a lady who wrote for the Mass Observation project set up in WW2. She was real character and her diaries are so entertaining to pick up and immerse yourself into. We found her house in Ilkley Road, Barrow and then went on some favourite car journeys that she liked to take during the 1940s and 50s, one being the coast road route from Barrow to Coniston, via Spark Bridge a place ...

This lovely display stand was a birthday present from my other half and it needed filling with lovely spring flowers so it was a good excuse to drive over to our favourite garden centre at the weekend and stock up... not that I needed an excuse if you know me! They were displaying all of the beautiful spring bulbs and so many gorgeous Primulas that  I was spoilt  for choice. I just love spring flowers, they are so joyful on the eye. Bought this lovely Frittillia My new Vase Every colour under the sun! As soon as the sun shines at this time of year I love wandering around the flower borders  to see what has appeared,I found  yellow crocus, red tulips, various daffodils coming out, clumps of snowdrops and hyacinths. The robin was bathing in the bird bath , the woodpidgeon gorging on the seed, for a few minutes I could pretend all was well in the world! I've been in Spring cleaning mode all week,washing curtains , cleaning windows and generally clearing out....

Birds on the feeders at Whinlatter Snowdrops at Martin Mere Whooper Swans Geese and lapwings Eider ducks Ruff Such a grey cold day but we ventured out to Martin Mere for an hour or so ,had a nice light lunch in the new restaurant there and then went to view the swans and other wildfowl from the Swanlink Hide.Luckily we also had a good view of some Ruff as a few were scratching around at the edge of the mere.There are still around 2,000 geese there and 1,000 whopper swans. In just a few weeks they will all have left to fly to their summer breeding grounds. As nice as it was it was just too cold to hang around so we set off for home and a good warm fire. The other photos were taken when we were at Whinlatter Forest Park up near Keswick and although it was raining the birds were singing from the high tree tops and then venturing down to the feeders where we took these photos. If only the spring sun would shine for a few days as my Daffodils are just waiting for that burst of warmt...

Gales,wind,rain it does not exactly make me want to venture out yet and begin the big garden clear up but I have been in the greenhouse and sowed Sweet peas and dianthus, Gazinias, Lettuce ,Lobelia and French Marigold so at least I've made a start and it did feel good to get out there with the plants. In the garden a few snowdrops are just coming into flower and the Crocus and Daffodils are in bud so will not be far behind. Before its painting! The muddy garden. The Mill house Old Lace The front door pot Lettuce and marigolds Hello Mum! Ginger I have had the little Mill house statue for 30 odd years and it has probably lasted that long because every couple of years I bring it in and give it a complete clean and repaint . I quite like it all mossy and green but it soons gets like it again after the weather does it's work. It was made by a disabled son of of one of my neighbours back when we lived over on the Wirral in our first house . Today the sun s...