A Little Bit of Sunshine

Thank you all so much for the messages on here and by email.  You're all lovely.  I hope I replied to everyone but the brain has been a little foggy.  This week hasn't been fun but it's gone and we now move on.  

I've not been too much in the mood for making things so I thought I'd go around the garden instead which always cheers me up.  When we moved in ten years ago it was more or less a field with some tree stumps in it! We spent the best part of four years fiddling, planting, digging, building and setting it up.  Well now it is virtually self caring with a few tweaks each week by John and Brian, I just do the directing. 

We lost a rather tender Solanum jasminoides alba on the pergola after it's second year but replaced it with it's more common purple brother which took off.  This year it's looking wonderful. 

I think the cardoons are aiming to take over this year too.  

This is Tully Doo 2 who always smiles rain or shine. 

The acer Crimson King on the right was almost up to my chin when I put it in in 2008 and it's now over 20 feet glowing in the sunshine.

We put the rose ropes in to help disguise the greenhouse and they are just starting to look, and smell, fabulous. 

There's always plenty of room for doggy playtime. 

The build is starting to show shape.  All the what were ceiling joists had to be replaced with flooring ones and, as the space is 35 x 14 feet that took some time.  Most of the walls have gone up, the steels are in and the roofing joists are just beginning to grow.  A tricky job as three roofs have to meet and the old one across the middle of the photo behind the chimney is far from square! Andy the builder has the patience of a saint. The worst of it is now done and hopefully the rest should, should be plain sailing. 

The security lights come on when the dogs trip the sensors.  Do you think they can see us from outer space?  

Last weekend we had a fabulous walk out with Pointer doggy friends.  14 Pointers and 3 wannabes!! It was wonderful and they all were beautifully behaved.  

One of the ladies took a quick snap of me and Ellie when were were having lunch in the pub afterwards.  A very, very rare event me being on the other side of the camera! I look a bit windblown though. 

(PS You can't see the grey but it's coming along quite well.  About 1.5 inches showing now and I've just had 4 inches cut off).

Summer is trying hard to arrive but Spring just won't let go yet, still a little chilly.  I hope you have a good weekend.

More Play Time

I had a little more of a play with some textured surfaces last week as I will need a few pieces for the next class.  I liked these two parts very much and so made a little note book.  The ribbon I used for the binding was a bit stretchy though, even though the colour was a great match, so I will take that into consideration next time.

Yesterday, just before the heavens opened for the day, we had this rainbow land on the hill opposite.  It was very big and bright, probably one of the best I've seen in ages.

And the tree branches in the above photo belong to this huge old fellow that sits in one of our front lawns.

It's funny how small it looks in a photo!  If John (6' 3") was stood under it the hedge behind it would be over his head. It's one of two fully grown Ash trees we have and we have been very much saddened and alarmed by the news this week of yet another tree problem that could possibly devastate them.  We have a Horse Chestnut on the other front lawn that is showing the first signs of bleeding canker so to loose two fabulous specimens would be soul destroying.  We are watching them closely with advice from our tree surgeon!!!  (This one it TPO'ed).

I hope, wherever you are, the weather is good to you this weekend. 

A Mixed Bag This Week!

I had this lovely delivery from Karen at Stitching Life.  Aren't they lovely?  She dyes such rich colours and interesting threads.  Mind you, they go like hot cakes so when she is selling you have to be quick! Can't wait to use them.

Hebe has decided she wants a bit of Steampunk.  Big boots, lace gloves and some rather fetching stockings with big girl pants.  The top layer is being worked on, in my head still.  

She is nothing at all like this little girl!!  A friend mentioned ragdolls the other day and I realised I had never made one.  I'm really quite pleased with her, just a shame she is only 10 inches tall.  

We had a visitor in the house the other night and it's not even Halloween.  I managed a couple of quick photos but the light was low and I didn't have the flash on so as not to scare it. 

We seem to have a lot of bats this year.  There is a bat box at the top of the garden and we wonder if they are using it at all, it's very hard to tell and I'm reluctant to open it to have a look, besides which it would be illegal to do without a licence.

There was beautiful light this morning through some of the plants like the Crimson King maple.

Ever hopeful faces at the table, they don't miss a trick.

But after being so good and patient (and a little bit fuller)...

...they did play very nicely.

I am hopefully going to make something out of this pile.  John has had a thought on a topic for a quilt......

I hope you have a creative week!

Some Colour and a Farewell

I have been crafting and stitching but not much to show on here.  Mainly City & Guilds and Christmas things.

After the terrible weather we have been having just lately, it was a wonderful surprise to wake up to a bright blue sky this morning.  As John and I were wandering around picking up the mess the neighbours fireworks left for us, I thought I would take a few photos of colour still left in the garden.  I thought you may like a wander around the back garden of the House household too. 

You can't fault some colours.  This is beautiful when the leaves are just opening as well as before they drop.

Cercis canadensis Forest Pansy

Our last Hollyhock for this year.

A little moth eaten but still fabulous markings and quite a few buds still to come.

Alstromeria

One of natures stranger creations as it's the only one in it's class and known as a living fossil.  I just loved the contrast with the sky.

I'm not sure if there is anything more yellow out there at the moment. 

Ginkgo biloba

A few of the roses still just hanging in there.

Rosa Dizzy Heights

Rosa Little Rambler

Rosa Markham Pink

Rosa Summer Wine

A view up to Tully Dew 2 with the Symphoricarpus albus (Snowberry) behind that had totally swamped everything in its path, (including TD2), and had to be hacked back.

Cotoneaster tree

The Trains with their winter clip done.

We've yet to have flowers on our Tulip Tree but it's still a baby at about 10 years old.  We always hope each year.  The leaves are rather lovely too though.

Liriodendron tulipifera

A close up of Tully Dew 2.  We dug up the old concrete grass roller and I found the bird bath top in the compost pile when we moved in.  The little gnome just needed a perch.

Cox's Orange Pippin.

We had a little crop of summer figs this year and the bush has a fabulous second crop.  Unfortunately they won't last the winter here.  Food for the birds anyway.

Ficus Brown Turkey

Spiraea, Geranium 'Anne Thomson' and Rosa 'Kent'.

We kept an eye out for the Spindle Ermine Moth this spring and sprayed a couple of the spindle bushes that had it.  This one managed to avoid being eaten away and has made it through to dropping its vivid orange seeds from the bright pink cases.

Euonomus 

I don't think I have ever seen the Pheasant Berry so heavily laden as this year.

Leycesteria formosa

Geum in Pheasant's Tail grass

This vine was a wedding gift from Elsa and it's really enjoying itself on the pergola.  Huge amounts of grapes this year, still not ripe enough for wine but we are over run with grape jelly so they will stay on the vine for the birds.

Vitis vinifera Aglianico

And we had another cat farewell this week.  Foxy our sorrel Somali hung on for as long as he could after his accident with a car in 2007.  At that time he had both hips broken, a broken pelvis and tail and a complete gastric shut-down.  The vets had him in for two weeks and eventually we were allowed to bring him home after his insides started working again.  He never really fully recovered the ability to totally absorb food again and steadily lost weight until last week when we thought he wasn't benefiting from a good quality of life any more.  14 years old is still a good innings and now he's terrorising the mice somewhere with Izzy. 

Foxy helping Elsa on the computer.

Wenlo Foxtrot 27.11.97 - 04.11.2011