Photo a day….29th July

Meet Bill and Coo. They are our new garden residents. They arrived earlier last week and we have had a few days display of great affection….lasting ages, followed by mating, on this gate arch! I hope they are nesting nearby.

I am away for two days in Kent from early tomorrow. I am bringing two teenaged boys back for a week’s stay. It is not as daunting as it sounds because they have been very well brought up and are a delight to have as guests. My DH will have an excuse to go fishing as they both like to go with him.

On the way to Kent I’ll drop in at Wisley…to check up on Carol Klein’s 3×3 kitchen garden….I hope the “plunts” are flourishing!!!

Photo a day…..28th July

 I walked the dogs right along the beaches this afternoon. It was really bustly as everyone was making the best of the sunshine.

Yesterday I spent a long morning at the plot. I took up all the onions and threw a lot away. The ones I think I can salvage are now here at home in the polytunnel. I hope they’ll dry out enough to be able to store some of them.
A neighbouring plotholder suggested making the best of a bad job by chopping up any iffy ones (discarding the brown slimy bits), then giving them a quick blitz in the microwave, then bag them up and freeze them. I am going to try that. We have a new chest freezer (that always makes me giggle inwardly!) coming on Wednesday and I hope to be able to freeze a lot of stuff from the plot.
Has anyone got any idea how I go about freezing courgettes, or red cabbage? We have both now in vast quantities!

Photo a day 26th July

Photo a day….26th July.

These trees were in Cowes. We saw them during our walk along the shopping street there on Sunday. “Nothing remarkable”! you may be thinking…..but ALL of them were in pots!

I went to the plot this afternoon in the rain to get some veg as we were out! I brought home potatoes, carrots, courgettes and a cabbage.
Not having been for a while as I have been very busy decorating etc, and the weather has stopped all gardening anyway, I was surprised to see that all the tops on the onions were toppled over and beginning to spoil. I think the weather has affected them. So I lifted them all, leaving them on the surface, and hoped that they will dry off soon. I’ll have to go tomorrow as we are promised a sunny day, and I will assess the damage then. I do hope they don’t rot as there are over 200 of them….hopefully our whole winter’s supply.
Has anyone else experienced this this year?

Photo a day…..25th July

On Sunday morning we had to get out of the house for hours with the dogs to allow our friend who did our floors time to do two coats and for them to dry. We hadn’t visited Cowes since we lived here although we used to go often when we came on holiday. One place that we used to check up on was this shop…Jolliffe’s. It used to be a Mens’ Outfitters, and the shop is a listed building because all the interior features originally built in to allow its use for selling clothing; cabinets, counters etc, are all still there.

We first saw this shop about 7 or 8 years ago. It was empty and up for sale. We really wanted it. We saw it as a shop which my husband could use for his business….Accountant…and we could have a flat over it. We were desperate to move to the Island but it didn’t happen then unfortunately.

We were delighted on this visit to find that it did sell in the end. It is now a Chandlery, and they have sensibly taken the name “Jolliffe’s” as they have to preserve the front as it is. My photo doesn’t do it justice, but it is a delightful building. It has curved windows in the shopfront, wood panelling, cupboards and a beautiful stairway inside, and views from the top floor. Up there are offices for some famous sailors…Ellen McArthur being just one of them.
To see a better picture click here
http://www.chandlery-boats.co.uk/index.php?WSid=b43f7bc338a9305e85feb9cb075daa68

Sorry!

Still no pictures…sorry. We have been so busy sorting out indoors, decorating and finally taking down the gazebo…in the almost dark this evening when I saw that we have rain forecast for the next three days…!

Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get to the plot (we need the veg) and download some photos for my photo a day.

Hurrah!

After being without phone and net for three days (the man sanding our floors just moved the phone cable and we were cut off. A man has just been in and replaced it all!

I’ll blog again tomorrow…..everything is still up in the air here….literally. The furniture got wet in the gazebo( tent!) and is up on chocs to dry! Can’t sit anywhere comfy!

Photo a day….19th July

This was the sky yesterday evening above our house. It was eerie. I felt they looked pleated…..

We had a lot of rain from them….which leaked into the gazebo through the roof vents.I was a bit disappointed with it, but the weather is really asking a lot from an £80 bargain! So far the furniture seems ok, but we are expecting more rain tonight….!

I’m online after all!

But too tired to do a photo today. I took some of the sky this evening which was really strange….sort of pleated clouds. I’ll post it tomorrow!

Shutting down for four days.

Today I have to dismantle the computer and stow it for the next four days as we are having all our downstairs floors sanded and sealed. I hope to be back on-line by Monday but don’t hold your breath!!!

Photo a Day…..18th July

At Barton Manor last Sunday I was pleased to find that they have a Black Swan on the lake. He looked rather lonely as he was the only swan. He kept a bit aloof from the crowd, but did come to investigate the food being thrown in to the carp.