Pinecones for Christmas

Cleaned, baked and nearly ready for painting.

December is approaching at break neck speed and the annual Victorian Market will be upon us in a matter of weeks, so this morning I popped down to the greenhouse to retrieve the pinecones Middle Mudlet had collected a few weeks ago, in order that I could start preparing them ready for her to paint.

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A wander along the wetlands

Humber Bridge from the river bank walk

Back in February we decided to SORN Annie (our Series 3 Land Rover) because she needed some substantial work doing to her brakes and Mud, who isn’t getting any younger you know, decided that trying to get her ready for an MOT (annual road worthiness test in the UK), in mid winter with only the hard gravel drive available to work on, was something he simply couldn’t face …… especially when getting her through the MOT meant sorting the aforementioned brakes out, a bad enough job with a warm, dry workshop at your disposal, never mind sub-zero temperatures, rain and a gravel drive. So we declared her off road, parked her up on the drive and left her there for six months, with Mud regularly idling her on the drive to keep everything lubricated in the engine.

A splash park, picnic, pets, and plants

The walled garden

Having purchased a family season ticket for Normanby Hall Country Park, back in April, this Wednesday, with the weather set to be bright and sunny, I decided to make use of the ticket and took the Mudlets to Normanby for a picnic. Not just for a picnic, although that had been a promised treat from the start of the summer break, but for a mooch about and a peek at the newly opened water splash play park within the grounds.

Big sisters have their uses

I love this picture: EMB helps Little Mudlet down a steep bit of bank

One of the benefits of having a daughter in her mid twenties, is that when she and her boyfriend come to visit 5 weeks into the summer holidays and suggest taking her younger sisters on a walk for an hour or two, I can happily agree to this plan, knowing that they’ll keep them safe……. and that is how I found myself enjoying two and a half blissfully peaceful hours, defunct of squabbling children, one day this week.

Out and about with the Mudlets (part 2)

I thought that the top of this tree looked like an open hand.

With the good weather continuing, Mud and I decided to make the most of it and take the girls somewhere more local for a trip out. We settled on another favourite haunt, The Pink Pig which is a local farm shop and which we knew from previous visits, had a  farm trail and outdoors play area, the latter two items being accessible on payment of a small charge of £2.50 per person. In addition, there was a nice little cafe attached to the shop in which we would be able to get a coffee and something to eat.

Feed and weed

Before and after

Wondering around my garden a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that some of my plants were looking a little yellow around the leaves which is usually a good indication that something is lacking in the nutrient department. This wasn’t a big surprise because even with the most careful preparation over winter and spring, the combination of rain washing some of the nutrients out and plants absorbing them at a rate of knots, is bound to lead to a deficency at some point and, to be fair, giving your plants a little boost every now and again, can only be a good thing.

Poisoned Ivy

Some of the leaves are starting to look a little brown around the edges

Well it’s been a few weeks since I first dosed the troublesome Ivy plant with white wine vinegar. There hasn’t been the instantaneous shrivelling up that I half hoped for but there are definite signs that the combined efforts of three doses of the vinegar are starting to pay dividends.

Hints of Spring

The first of the spring flowers in my garden

The sight of Snowdrops opening their delicate petals has to be one of the most comforting things you can see in the garden, as it heralds the imminent end of Winter and arrival of Spring, even if the weather doesn’t want play ball and instead chooses to deliver more storms or snow, instead of bright if chilly days, with the first hint of warmth from the sun.

From 2 bulbs planted 8 years ago

Three Mudlets, a walk and Annie does it again

I had hoped to take a picture of Annie basking in her success (and the sun) but the rain stopped play.

As I walked backed into the kitchen last Saturday morning, the two youngest Mudlets greeted me with a level of semi interest brought on by the hope that my bag may contain more than a newly purchased box of painkillers. The need for painkillers, had been the reason given for why I had popped out but this still didn’t stop the girls from hoping that sweets or chocolate might have found their way in to my bag.

Tomato shoots the final update and an ‘aaahhh’ moment

Fledgling blackbirds taking a bath

With a sudden surplus of home grown tomato plants and no room for any more, I was almost disappointed when all the tomato side shoots I planted the other week, took and started to grow. I counted them up the other day and I had something like 15 side shoot plants as well as approximately 16 plants grown from seed, 2 plum tomatoes which a friend gave me and the Sweet Millions I got at the village plant sale.

A veritable truss of tomato plants, you might say.