N is for..........

NATURE

Some nature from around my garden.
We don't have a very tidy garden, am working on that, but then I don't want a very tidy garden with formal beds!  

Apologies very photo heavy

Cowslip

Forget-me-knot

Wild Garlic

Welsh Leek

Herb Robert

Scentless Mayweed

Bee

Nettle family

Fern

Bush Fuschia

Dandilion Clock

Dandilion

Periwinkle

Laburnum in bud

Blue, While and Pink Bells

Valarian

very tiny bird with a very loud voice!

Blogging with  Alphabet Blogging

Advent Calendar - door 3

(Taken by Julie Caisey - March 2013)

The north wind doth blow and we shall have snow,

and what will the poor robin do then, poor thing?

He'll sit in a barn and keep himself warm,

and hide his head under his wing, poor thing.

3rd December

my mum taught me this rhyme when I was a little girl

This is my garden!

I just couldn't resist to photoshop these pictures.  

When I put bread on the bird-table for the garden birds, this pigeon sit in the middle and chucks it onto the ground and the Seagulls flock in.  

I had the camera ready today!

Now class............

Class dismissed..................

And the days get shorter................

Anniversary Rose

Its the longest day today.  It is also our 33rd Wedding Anniversary.  Thirty Three years ago at midday at Southend Registrar Office with close friends and relatives Alex and I got married.  When we go to the local Farmers Market later we will pop into a card shop and go and buy cards for each other, how organised is that?

Do you remember this lovely yellow display it looks so sad now.

But now the the Elderflowers are in full bloom.  Does anyone have a tried and tested simple Elderflower Cordial recipe?  

Everything is so late this year.

This Blackbird with long worm in its beak has searched out breakfast for his three children

I risked being attacked by the parent birds and the razor sharp leaves of the Yucca and thorns on Bramble to take a picture of the nest, I'llleave them alone now, but I will look out for the fledglings next I don't want them to be abandoned now.

Click on this picture and I have pointed them out

I have been creating too!

Lilies Day - 17 I had to do it, and there they were gone!

My Lilies are developing brown patches.

So.............

Off with their stalks! and I dead headed them, 

and the same with the Carnations

They are now in smaller vases.

We did our usual hour or so in the garden again this afternoon.  We think this maybe the last of the Bindweed, but with Bindweed if you leave the smallest amount in the ground it will grow from the smallest amount of root!  We think this is the main root, but we know there are still bits in the ground because where we have already dug it is growing again.  This stuff goes on forever!

Whilst Alex was tugging at the root

Mr/Mrs Toad crawled out with the root, husband still recovering as this was a bit of a surprise to say the least!  Mean you don't expect to tug a root and something to crawl out with it.........do you.....!

Before.................................................two hours later

We knew they we going to cut down the trees at the end of the week (today).  I thought I would take a photo through the window at 7.30 this morning, we breakfasted and went to the farmers market, by 9.30 this morning when we returned.  The tree fellers arrived about 8.30 when we just about to leaving.......................  Its looks rather strange at the moment!  My Bay needs a trim it looks so huge now!

Lilies Day - 6 and a visitor..........

Something is beginning to happen..........

and the perfume is beginning to arrive

That is my husband's foot - that is how close we were!
There is a worm just inside the pot.

A few years when we had a shed that was only held together by will power and the door only fitted where it touched.  There was a rather large hole at the top of the shed door, no one took much notice of the shed until one of our son's wanted something from the shed and went in the shed to get what he wanted, he left the shed empty-handed and called me and his dad to see what he should do next......  

You see in the shed was a nest, we didn't know what sort of nest just a nest with blueish eggs in it, we hadn't seen any comings and goings.  Anyway we carefully moved the nest, son got what he wanted and returned the nest slightly lower than before but it was still in the same place and we forgot about the nest and carried on with everyday life.  

A few weeks later the back door wide open and commotion of a bird and it was a robin making so much noise and flying back and forth getting rather over excited!  When I went to look there was a cat walking around and round waiting for someone to open the shed door to let it in the for the chicks.  No chance!  I chased the cat out of the garden and the robin flew in the shed through the hole in the door and I just went back to the kitchen to continue doing whatever it was, tea I think as it was late afternoon.  A few minutes later I heard chirping on the doorstep, went and looked and there was the robin chirruping away as if to say thank you for saving my family.

600th Post

My 600th post! 

I wanted to celebrate this post with something else, but that will have to stay a mystery for a while longer!  Here are a some pics of my other makes!

Well I didn't make this!  I found it basking in the winter sunshine on one of my towels.  If anybody knows what it is please tell..........

I made this Apple Crumble with apples I was given.

I use butter and demerara sugar for the crumble it gives a shorbread taste!

I made these brooches

I made these Vintage Style Wash Cloths

and these Christmas items

It's Cold!

I took some stale crusts up the garden for the birds and this poor little Blackbird (well I think its the same one) has been coming to and fro to the garden all morning. Early this morning it just stood there and watched me throw the bread onto the ground as if to say I can't be bothered to fly away and besides there is food coming! I put out a stale packet of dried fruit and some cooked pasta the other day it was still there, I thought these birds need food obviously not pasta and dried fruit! Even the Seagulls turned their beaks up at it, but this little Blackbird has decided that as this is all there is on this banquet he thought he would dine alone!

I would like to thank Fi for giving me a "Boot up the Botty" . This New Years challenge of hers has made me get on with things I have been promising myself to do for years!
I have always wanted to make a hand pieced quilt. So Friday I cut the paper shapes (loads of them, think I may need some more). Have to say the twenty minutes of sewing never actually happened on Friday! But yesterday I covered seven in material before I went to work! I got up extra early too because I was in Tescos by 7.30!


Today I sewed them together, (the colour is actually BLUE as above) I don't know what happened with the camera. Anyway I plan on making one of these flowers per week till then end of the year - fifty two in all and my blogging friends I will promise to show you the result..........I hope! ENCOURAGEMENT pleeeeeeeeease...........................

Birds & Flowers

The House Martin family have grown in just a few days!

Jane thought all you nice people in Blogland might like to see this photograph taken yesterday morning. The little chicks are quite big now. The two biggest hog the front of the nest, while the other three are packed in at the back. She says they are all doing well. but she thinks Shiloe (her horse) will be glad when they are flying out and about, as they are rather noisy and they are constantly leaving him with little presents around his clean stable - they are quite messy apparently!

This is a strange phenomenon.

This stalk is perfectly flat!

A Freak of nature?

Last night after the rain

I saw these perfectly lovely Lilies from my kitchen window

and just had to take a photograph of them.

Meet the Martin Family

This photograph was taken by my friend Jane
of House Martin chicks in their home at the stable.

Martin, Martina, Martine and Martini

Footnote:: Apparently a fifth chick has been seen