Better Than a Rainbow

I have been feeling 'off colour' for a few weeks now.  This culminated with a nasty virus that has been with me for the last few days.  Trying to sleep it off yesterday during the day, I noticed that the light outside the window took on a strange colour.  The Linden tree was illuminated by a beautiful rainbow that branched across the sky in a perfect semi-circle.  Even better -  it was a double rainbow (I presume this is just a reflection of the original) and I have never witnessed this before.

For that brief moment, I felt that there was light at the end of the tunnel or even a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  All too soon the rainbow began to fade and I resumed my place on the sofa with blanket and tissue mountain.  

Toad

This lovely, plump toad was found amongst a pile of rotting wood and leaves at the bottom of the garden. It was probably feasting on the slugs and snails that had accumulated there.  Although I had once dreamt of it, I don't think I am ever destined to have an organised veg patch but it is highly likely that my garden will become a nature reserve with the amount of wildlife that come to visit!

There is a distinctly autumn flavour to the air today.  I can't say that I will be sorry to see summer go as it never really got started for me.  My OH (a teacher) has had whooping cough since the end of June and now with just two weeks to go before the new term starts he is just getting over it.  It has been so distressing to see him choking and gasping for breath knowing that there is nothing I can do.  Hopefully we can move onwards and upwards towards the latter part of the year.  Thank goodness I have had my crafting to keep me sane and help me to hold things together!

A Pigeon's Tale

*There is a happy ending to this so please read on!*

Sunday morning and there was a commotion going on in the garden.  Magpies and rooks and blackbirds screeching and swooping  down over the ground.  It sounded ominous.  I went outside to discover a trail of feathers.  Quite a few trails of feathers.  I followed them to the greenhouse where I spotted Gizmo cornering a very wet and dishevelled pigeon, battle scarred and shaking.  I grabbed Gizmo and put him indoors grabbing rubber gloves on the way back out.

I didn't hold out much hope for the pigeon.  Most of its back feathers were missing, it was bleeding from the back and the chest and there was a droplet of blood forming on its beak.  I put the bird into the greenhouse where it lay on its side momentarily before mustering strength to perch on my son's old pedal car residing there, whilst I was trying to figure out what to do for the best.

Thank goodness I still have the old wooden hen house.  I did a bit of on line research about injured wood pigeons and it said to keep them in a quiet and confined space whilst they get over shock and injury and leave them for several hours.  I placed the pigeon in the old house with a few freshly podded peas and made it a hydrating solution (1 litre water, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt) to drink should it wish to.

As the rainy day got progressively hotter I worried about the pigeon getting fly strike.  I could see flies buzzing about the entrance to the hen house and knew that flies would lay eggs on the pigeons open wounds given half a chance.  Throughout the day I checked in on the pigeon.  It sat perched unmoving except for the occasional blink of an eye.  That night I prayed that its death would be swift without suffering and comforted myself that it was safely sheltered with food and drink .

This morning I woke bright and early.  I went straight to the hen house and with trepidation opened the door.  A bright eyed pigeon greeted me.  It shuffled along the perch, jumped out of the pop hole and waddled out onto the grass.  It sat down.  It stretched its wings to their full expanse and soared away up into the clouds.

I breathed a deep sigh of relief.

Natures Christmas Tree

The neighbourhood has been slow in putting up Christmas decorations this year.  Walking back from the shops with my son after dark we were on the look out for houses that displayed Christmas trees.  We saw many splendid examples but none so striking as the one made by nature.  Silhouetted against the lamplight in the thick mist and fog and hanging with moisture droplets it was a most amazing sight.  Unfortunately my point and shoot camera could not capture the beauty that we witnessed.  I doubt I will ever see anything like it again.  It was truly stunning.

Heron

The heron was standing at the waters edge before I went to the vineyard.  When I returned more than two hours later it was still standing there!  I was a bit worried in case it was looking for ducklings but I could only see adults on the lake.

Life has certainly picked up pace at the moment.  I am busy at the vineyard and the market garden and I am about to start a college course for a month called 'An Introduction to Gardening'.  I think some of it will be very basic but I am sure to learn something new and meet a different circle of people too so it should be worthwhile.  The pre-requisite of the course are an up to date tetanus injection and steel toe capped boots!!!

Heavy rain and thunderstorms have been forecast for today and it is just beginning to cloud over.  I don't think the weather has been too bad this June although my flowers are late to bloom and the wildflower patch is looking distinctly weedy!  I hope I pick up some tips on the gardening course to find out suitable plants to grow in my garden.  I will pass on any valuable snippets of information via this blog.

I am itching to do some crafting at the moment.  I may even make some paper tags again.  Do you remember the paper tags I used to make?  I used to really enjoy making them.  If you look under 'labels' on the right hand side of the screen you will see 'papercraft' and the old posts on tags will be listed there.

A Garden View No.1

I am beginning to use this blog as an online diary now as much as trying to provide interesting posts for readers.  The photo above shows part of my back garden.  It has changed considerably over the years with the addition of the now redundant hen house and run, and the subtraction of a large wooden arbour at the back of the garden that succumbed to woodworm and a battering by bad weather over the last few years.  The garden used to be in a dark shadow until a few years back when the neighbours decided to chop down a gigantic eucalyptus tree.  It was a beautiful tree but totally in the wrong place for a small residential garden.

On the far left of the picture, at the back is a skeleton of a tree that I believe was a casualty of the frosts.  It provides the ideal climbing frame for the pink clematis that you can see at the top.  It wasn't planned for the clematis to go there but was a 'happy accident'.  Either side of the hen house are two privet bushes.  The idea is to sculpt them into neat topiary shapes but that is another thing on my 'to do' list.

The garden is very shrubby and it takes a lot of time to prune the shrubs and prevent them encroaching on the grass.  I try to keep it tidy and yet wildlife friendly.  There are plenty of wild areas around the edges!  I have started to get rid of some of the borage that has seeded all around the garden but left enough to provide food for the bees.

I hope you have enjoyed popping in to my garden space.  It has been a delight to have you over!

Goslings

Luckily I had my camera on me today and managed to get a close up of these goslings by the lake.  Some adult Canada Geese were keeping guard near by so I moved about very gently as not to cause alarm.  Just a few feet away on dry land some goslings were sheltering under their mother's wing not yet ready to face the outside World.  I feel like that sometimes!

Today is the last day of May.  Tomorrow we are into the sixth month of the year.  I have so much catching up to do in the garden.  So many seeds not sown and so many plants eaten by slugs and snails before they even had a chance to shine.  Sometimes I feel like giving up but sometimes I just plough on.  I hope to plough on through June and have a garden I can be proud of.

The Best Things in Life are Free

More than two years ago I asked on this blog if anyone had suggestions of employment for me based on what you know about me and my interests.  Many of you suggested doing voluntary work as a way into a new job.  Well, I have been volunteering for almost two years now on a regular basis.  There is still no paid work coming my way but I have gained so many riches from my experiences.  The wonderful scene above greets me as I walk towards the farm/vineyard/orchard/market garden/historic house etc.  Why pay to go to the Chelsea flower show when there is natural beauty on my doorstep (I still wouldn't mind going though!) and it is all for free!

The vineyard is a labour of love and we have yet to harvest any grapes.  We should be harvesting our first bunches in the late summer/autumn and magically turn them into bottles of organic wine.  The vineyard is looking to become bio dynamic using  various herbal preparations and return to the old ways by employing a draught horse for ploughing and farm labour.  I am sure he will become a valued member of the team.

There is so much happening in and around the farm land.  A new forest is going to be planted and we are going to get a cow and use her manure for bio dynamic preparations.  Students still come to the farm and look after the animals as part of their training purposes.  They get to handle a wide variety of animals such as rare breed pigs, sheep, horses, ducks, geese, chickens etc.

Today I did some voluntary work in the market garden.  I planted over 1000 seeds so hopefully some will crop up!  We are growing vegetables for an organic box scheme and if it takes off we could be supplying local businesses and restaurants.  There is so much going on I feel I could burst with happiness!  I truly have found my vocation working with lovely like minded people, doing varied, challenging and changing work, surrounded by nature; plants and animals.

Thank you to everybody who recommended that I try volunteering.  You have changed my life in a most positive way.

Keeping Busy

I thought I would pop by and say hello!  Although I haven't been commenting on blogs these last couple of weeks, I have been reading your posts and finding out what you have been getting  up to.  Since my last post I have been in the garden almost every day.  There is much to do; sowing, planting, pruning, weeding, digging, maintaining, changing things around etc.  There is much to keep me interested and busy.

Up at the vineyard I continue to maintain the vines once a week but have taken on a couple of other projects up there too.  I now volunteer for the newly formed market garden.  The purpose of the market garden is to grow organic vegetables up at the farm and offer them as part of a box scheme later in the year.  Last week I was sowing onions and runner beans as well as sunflowers and pot marigolds.  I have already learnt tips that professional market gardeners use and hope to implement them for my home grown vegetables too.

Towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year too I was sad when a couple of things I had lined up to do didn't happen for various reasons one of which was bee keeping.  Well, the chance to learn bee keeping has come up again so I didn't hesitate in putting myself forward to be part off the 'bee team'!

I think that is all I have to say for the time being.  Cheerio for now!

Bees and Blossom

Now I know that Spring has officially arrived.  With the increasing hours of daylight and warmth of the sun, the flowers are opening up and the bees are stirring.  It feels good to be alive!

As our Spring was so delayed I hope that the Summer is a long one that extends into late Autumn.  I have started the big garden tidy up in preparation for the glorious months ahead.  Dead wood has been done away with and cottage garden seeds have been sown.  I have high hopes for the garden this year.  We always do don't we?

Lessons

With the Internet down there was no good reason to stay within the confines of home, so I ventured off to the vineyard for the first time in weeks.  I had stopped going because I had developed a cold that wouldn't shift, aching bones and a general apathy to being outside in freezing cold temperatures.

On my approach to the vineyard I walk past a wooded area that is part of the Forty Hall Estate.  Just me and the trees, some squirrels and the cackling of the Corvidae family of birds.  I could have quite happily stayed a while in such tranquil surroundings but there was work to be done.

Up at the vineyard, a north easterly wind blew straight through me and challenged my senses as I tried to coax unyielding vines to bend.  Desperately wanting to work quickly, bending the vines is not a job to be done in haste.  Between thumb and forefinger the vine has to be warmed and manipulated downwards onto the wire, twisted along and then tied down.  If you try to hurry the vine snaps and you have lost this years grape harvest from that plant.  It was a lesson in patience and endurance.

Talking of patience and endurance, just recently I am beginning to feel a little persecuted by the Universe.  Contentment is fleeting but drudge and toil seem always present. I don't remember the last time I had a good old fashioned belly laugh!  Patience and endurance,  you have shown to be hard task masters and you have now outstayed your welcome.  Please be gone.

Mouse

By the time I reached it nothing more could be done.  Gizmo, bored of his latest quest, turned his back on the mouse and went off to pastures new.  I picked up the tiny creature who was still warm and supple and spoke soothing words as it slowly slipped away.

I shall hide mouse deep in the undergrowth and Mother Nature will take it back to the earth.

* Note: the photo is magnified.  The mouse was so tiny it hardly filled the palm of my hand.

Passing Season

Whilst walking around my garden on this crisp September morning, the remains of a dandelion seed head was a poignant reminder of the passing of the season.  It's seeds will be blown along by the wind and they will perish or germinate the following Spring depending on their fate.  Such a thing of beauty even during its demise.

Abundance

I have an abundance of blackberries.  They are ripening and decaying quicker than I can use them.  They are putting down runners everywhere and invading every possible space.  Decomposing berries litter the grass and attract the wasps and gastropods. Part of me just wants to tear the plants down so I don't have to 'deal' with using them up rather than seeing them go to waste.

A strange mood has descended upon me.  I have been restless for days.  I watched the decline of my hen as she got closer to death.  I fed her berries unwittingly as the internal parasites fed on her.  I will never forgive myself for not being vigilant enough in examining her sooner.  I was due to get more hens this year but have made the decision not to keep hens anymore.  I can't protect them from the foxes without taking away their freedom and I can't deal with the health problems and ensuing vet bills.  I feel that a chapter of my life is over - and it is.

Where to now?  I just do not know.

What is it?

My wildflower patch has been taken over by a rather ungainly purple flowered plant.  It is about 3 feet high in places and dozens of seeds run down from the base of the flower to the top of the stem.

It is definitely an insect- pleaser and that is why I have allowed it to remain for the time being but truth be told, I am not very fond of it.

Can anyone enlighten me to what it might be?  I don't know if it came in my Sarah Raven seed packet or if it is just a rogue seed that planted itself!

Edited 10 August  The mystery has been revealed!  I was looking through my Sarah Raven seed catalogue, and on page 71 the plant looked right back at me!  It is called Phacelia tanacetifolia, a hardy annual and a popular green manure.

I did some research and  found out that it is one of the top 20 honey-producing flowers for honeybees, and also attracts bumble bees and hover flies.  It can grow a metre high and is excellent as a cut flower.  As it is taking over my wildflower patch I think I will use some in floral arrangements.  There will be plenty left for the insects.  It wasn't supposed to be in my classic annual mix and must have accidentally been put into it.  I will save some of the seed and put into a different area of the garden next year.

A Feel for Autumn

Many of you will know that I am not a big fan of Summer.  She is full of expectations and rarely delivers.  Our whole year seems to focus on the coming Summer, that visits in spits and spats.  For a few days the temperatures soar to ridiculous heights and the humidity is unbearable.  Once we get used to her hanging about for a while and adapting our life to accommodate, she decides to have a strop and hide behind the clouds.

My favourite season of the year used to be Spring.  A time of hope.  A time of new beginnings.  This year the Spring failed to live up to expectations too.  The cold and wet weather didn't give seedlings a good start and many plants failed to come to fruition.

We are now heading towards the Autumn.  My ideal autumnal day would be a crisp cool day with a cornflower blue sky.  A slight chill in the air in the morning and at night.  Autumn is a time for long walks in the countryside and foraging for berries and nuts. 

I have high hopes for Autumn.  I hope she doesn't let me down.

Edited:  I do try to extract the best not only out of each season but also out of every day.  I look for the positive in every situation but sometimes this can get very wearing.  I am finding life quite challenging at the moment and regularly picking myself up and dusting myself down repeatedly does begin to take its toll.

Life has been frenetic in the these past few months.  I am looking forward to a time of peace and quiet reflection.  Wishing a quiet time to all of you who seek it too. x

Change

There have been many big changes around here in the last few months.  In my immediate World I have put on a significant amount of weight and am going to be embarking on a drastic lifestyle change.  Smaller changes that affect me and the rest of the UK are the huge increase in postage, the 'double dip' recession, the unrelenting rain, prices of everything going up and up and up.  Changes that affect Londoners are the ever increasing cost of the Olympic games to be held in London and the possibility of land to air missiles close to where I live.  I am really quite worried of the negative impact the Olympic games is going to have on London despite politicians telling us all to embrace this wonderful event.

As I sit and type this just before 4.00pm, it is raining bucket loads.  Only this morning the weather forecasters predicted a dry afternoon.  With all these 'happenings', I now know for certain that we are living in 'uncertain' times.

When the enormity of life takes its hold on me I turn to beauty and to nature.  The honeysuckle is just coming in to flower.  I look forward to its sweet scent over the coming weeks.

Pewter and Pearls

When it comes to jewellery I like simple pieces with meaning behind them (although the bloggers beads necklace was not simple at all!!!).  I have been collecting some beautiful but tiny freshwater pearls in hues of greens and blues and also some nature themed pewter charms.

The first thing I made was this stretch bracelet in shades of the sea and a summer sky.  I added three lime green pearls to bring attention to the beautiful honey bee and remind me of the fresh greens of springtime.  The honey bee represents nature and that hard work reaps rewards (gathering pollen to make honey).

Talking of bees, I may get the opportunity to train as a bee keeper in the near future.  I am looking forward to the prospect of  harvesting the honey to spread on my toast!

Amazing Nature

I awoke to this stunning sunrise on Wednesday morning.  I grabbed my camera and rushed out on to the porch to capture the clouds before they dispersed.  The sky looked as though it was on fire and the skeletal  trees could make one think that the leaves had been burnt away.  The scene set before me was as though Monet had painted the sky just for me that morning.  Nature and its beauty continues to lift and inspire me each day.

I am also inspired and lifted by the amount of people that want to be part of my Bloggers Beads Necklace (see previous post). Thank you to those of you that have sent beads to me so far and for all of the thought you have put into choosing them for me.  Don't worry if you haven't sent beads to me yet.  There is still time.  I am going to leave this open for about a month to give my friends from overseas time to send them to me.  Don't forget that I will draw a name from all the participants and send the winner something I have made.

It has just gone 3.30 in the afternoon.  A watery sun is shining.  Birds are singing.  Spring IS on its way.

Walking in the Woods

Yesterday I walked for miles.  I crossed ancient bridges, walked alongside bridle paths and passed by fields and hedgerows still brimming with fruit.  A warm, dry, autumnal day with a slight breeze: just perfect conditions for walking about in nature.  The highlight of my walk was discovering this woodland glade.  A canopy of green leaves above and a mattress of fallen leaves below.  There is a magical quality about these woods.  You can tell that there are many stories and secrets contained within.  The trees appear to be leaning towards each other whispering and entwining branches to be as one.

There is nothing dark and foreboding about these woods.  They feel spiritual and protective and the green luminosity that shines through the canopy make one feel that they have witnessed something very special.