Spring Forces Way into UK

I hope this week has been fruitful and peaceful no matter where in the world you are. 

There are signs, despite a late surge in chill north atlantic weather, that spring is trying to force its way into our lives in the UK. Bring it on! The rain has helped of course and as the country in largely in a drought situation, every last drop is welcome even though my tan is rust rather then from the sun! The grass is green, the fresh green leaves in the hawthorn are very evident now and the tulips are abundent alongside the fading daffodils.

The marsh marigold in my fish pond is well and truly out and will last well into the early summer with flowering after flowering.

Today I potted fifty petunia palnts that I received in the form of tiny plugs from a famous seed company. So I turned this:

Into this:

 

In their latest catalogue, they enclose a small sachet of Tomato Powerfood with a  50 pence off voucher for a bigger packet of the stuff. The only problem is the voucher is only valid until 30 September 2009. Cheers.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Where There's Brasso, There's Polishing

My mother had, in fact still has, proudly displayed on her mantle piece, two large polished brass candlesticks accompanied by four tiny candle sticks (to hold a candle you might find on a birthday cake). One of my jobs as a child was to polish them. Carefully togged out in old clothes with old rags for the polish, I would get the Brasso out (other brass cleaners may be available) and cover the sticks in polish.  The sticks were them gently polished with a dry clean rag until they shone. 

The pungent smell - the unique chemical smell of the polish was something that I had forgotten until tonight. I have a brass singing bowl and I've had it a while and have never polished it so I thought I'd do the business and be a good boy and clean it up. Polish bought, a clean duster cloth acquired (no rags) and polishing began and hey presto after ten minutes and black hands and nose assaulted with the Brasso smell - a shiny singing bowl. What a great experience, something I've not done for about 40 years.

Early in my marriage I remember having brass ornamental horse shoes and a brass fireside companion set, but they were lacquered, so no need to polish.

Spring is well and truly here and whilst its not set to last with normal temperature returning by the weekend, most of the UK is basking in sun under a high pressure system which is reluctant to clear away. By day temperatures are reaching 20 degrees but by night, fogs appear and this morning, the cars were covered in frost. It's difficult to forget its only March.

The clocks went forward early on Sunday morning just gone and the extra hour on a night is welcome as the grass has had its first cut, the edging has been done, the last of the leaves picked up that have been hiding in the nooks and crannies and the main weeds are now ready for composting.

Now back to the singing bowl. It doesn't play top twenty tunes or hum the Marseilles. It just hums with a most beautiful tone when stroked on the outside rim with the wooden baton, bizarrely called a mallet although it looks nothing like a traditional mallet. The bowl is made of brass. They come in a whole range of sizes and originally were used as bells. They can come the size of a small car down to the size of a small toy car.

Originally from Asia and with a history of around 3,000 years, singing bowls are used to produce a pleasant frequency (they are all different) with which to meditate or simply relax. They are used in many therapies including cancer therapies, stress relief and for post traumatic stress disorder. Musicians use them and in the east, they are used in classrooms. Apparently every Japanese temple has one.

I use mine simply for the pleasure of listening to the sound.

I hope you are enjoying your week so far now the dreaded Monday is now out of the way.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Wrapped in Warmth... at Last

 

Doesn't the sun, blue skies and warmth just make you feel a whole load better? The picture above is looking toward the south bank of the River Humber this afternoon. Welcome to new follower Peter Rubinstein. I don't know anything about you Peter, but you are very welcome anyway. The flowers are late and sparse in the garden this year which is a little disappointing but the daffodils are out on the grass verges, the the buds are showing quite clearly in the bushes and some of the trees. Indeed, I've noticed cherry blossom around although my cherry tree is nowhere near producing yet.

The fish in the ponds are eating wheatgerm now, pretty low protein stuff, nothing too rich - it just gets them going and I've decided to put some salt in the water in the next couple of weeks to aid their health. 

Normally as you know, I'm a fairly positive person, glass half full - that sort of thing, but last night we had some Norwegian smoked haddock and I am so disappointed.  Our normal smoked haddock from the supermarkets (we don't have a fishmonger round us) is yellow. This is from a dye I understand rather than a true smoking unless anyone can tell me different.  This Norwegian haddock is just off white (see the picture below) and did not have a strong odour, even when cooking which is quite a refreshing change. I cooked it for exactly the same time, around five minutes in gentle simmering water and it tasted of - nothing. It was meaty and flaked beautifully but was without any taste, so much so, my two lads who loved smoked haddock couldn't eat it and it took me years to get them to eat fish.

Next time I guess it will be okay in a kedgeree, a recipe I've seen the Hairy Bikers (TV chefs for those who don't know) use with rice and eggs and a touch of optional spiciness, normally a breakfast dish. Kedgeree was introduced to the UK by the way of returning colonials from India in Victorian times, but the recipe goes back to around 1340.

You live and learn. I was sat in the garden this afternoon enjoying the sun and the cat playing around my feet with twigs - she's still like a kitten sometimes. I saw a huge bird of prey swirling in circles up above us climbing high on the thermals and I have little idea what it was but we do have red kites in the area, what a magnificent sight. I just couldn't capture a photograph of it. Talking of birds, although the crows are now nesting in trees nearby that they have never used before, which is a delightful sight, the little birds have not used the bird boxes as they have in past years although there seem to be plenty of the little fellows around.  Perhaps there's still plenty of time. 

I did notice today that the grass will almost certainly need a high cut imminently; the first of the year. I know this is strange, but I love cutting the grass, not only is it exercise, but the fresh air and the resulting look to the garden is very satisfying indeed. 

I'm back to the healthy eating and exercise will follow very shortly. I'm not using the 'D' word any more (of or relating to a food regimen designed to promote weight loss in a person) and after a fortnight - I already feel better.  Thanks to my friends for their encouragement. I must mean it this time - there are biscuits and chocolate goodies around the huge office I now work in and so far, I've resisted it all.

I hope you've had a great weekend and have a safe and successful week ahead!

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

We've Had Babies

As always, my first duty is to welcome a new 'follower', Molly Printemps and her very interesting and entertaining musings on her blog can be found here. 

There comes a time every spring when I venture into the garden with trepidation ready to start the year's preparation for the spring and summer. Although I put the compost on the borders a few weeks ago, I've done very little other than a watching brief. The weekend has been pleasantly warm because there's been no breeze, but a thick jumper was still needed.

Surprisingly, the garden's not looking too bad; a little tatty perhaps, ragged round the edges, but a bit of elbow grease will soon sort that out.

On Saturday I semi-cleaned both my fish ponds and gave it a good examination. I found one dead goldfish that had become trapped behind a basket, but other than that - all appeared well and indeed today, I saw a few tiny black fry swimming about the large pond - we've had babies! The water is warm enough (10 degrees C) to feed them a little wheatgerm food and they are tentatively playing with it. 

Today saw me clean my greenhouse ready for some plants coming and some spiders are now looking for new homes. I have some different varieties of lavender bushes in pots and after a trim, they were re-potted along with some other plants including two geraniums which had survived all winter uncovered in the greenhouse. 

I have noticed the huge number of ladybirds in the garden and the midges are flying over the ponds already, highlighted in the weak late winter sun shine.   The lady birds vary both in size and in colour - some are pillar box red and some are even shinier slightly darker red and the number of spots vary too.  I must take some pictures and check the varieties out - I just thought there was one type of ladybird and that was it!

I have noticed however how relatively dry things are which I suppose I should be surprised at but considering there's a drought already officially announced in South East England, it's understandable. We haven't had sustained rain here for a long time. 

The spring flowers are showing nicely - snowdrops are in full bloom and the hellebore is just starting to flower. Shoots are well advanced on the roses and the grass is tufting in places so I guess the first high cut is only a couple of weeks away. 

I hope you have a great week.

Chat soon

ta-ra.

Is Spring Upon Us?

There are no twigs on my grass. That's official. The first day in the garden today for about three months give or take a few bob and the sun was shining but my goodness it was cold. I was shocked at the amount of fallen branches and twigs in the garden, but I have noticed that the crows are very active picking budded twigs off the trees for their new nests which could account for a fair bit. 

Neither should I have worried about the spring bulbs coming up, the snowdrops are in flower although they look smaller this year and the daffs are just a few inches tall now although I have seen some flowering nearby. Perhaps the late snow just caused a little bit of a set back. All of the snow has gone now and I've been able to pick up about half a bin's worth of twigs and leaves that have accumulated in nooks and crannies although I thought I had got rid of them last year.  They clearly hide and then come out when I'm least expecting them just to create me extra work.

The sunlight brought new life to the garden today with quite a strange and softer light than the usual low harsh light that winter suns bring.

What makes a phenomenal difference to my current well being is that I travel to work in the daylight and come home in the daylight.

Well it's been a busy old week last week, out every night doing this and that and this weekend has given me chance to recharge the batteries a little and I'm really looking for some warmer weather which the BBC has forecast for later in the week. For now the bitterly cold easterly winds have abated which is nice.

I really do need to start to lose some weight again and not sure how to do it really. I think I'm going to try hypnosis because I have no will power, I have decided.

Although I Tweeted it first before the BBC broadcast the news (I cheated - I read the English version of the Swedish newspaper The Local Sweden http://www.thelocal.se/ ) what about the man who survived two months stuck in his car in a snowdrift in Northern Sweden. Although emaciated and hardly able to move, he survived just on snow and the fact that being surrounded by snow kept him insulated. He was found by two snow boarders. Lucky guy, he should buy a lottery ticket.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Trousers on the Line

There are few delights in life, well my life anyway, than to spend a warm balmy sunny day in the garden. Gardening, reading, chatting, watering, weeding, feeding, cutting, tidying, drinking tea, composting, cleaning and drinking more tea.

Looking up into the rays of light between the trees to see thousands of insects and other things drifting slowly along, back lit and highlighted by the sunlight gave me a sense of relaxation along with the smells of spring and the warmth - wonderful and hopefully a sign of things to come.

We do, however need some rain. Ironic isn't it that after the worst winter for years and all that water from melted snow that made everything mushy and sodden, we now need some rain.

To boot - I even found time to prepare and cook tea - chicken breast stuffed with chopped mushrooms and coated with apple and sage and onion stuffing. Ah what a day.

I am reading one of those - 'don't want to put it down' type books, a novel by Diane Setterfield called The Thirteenth Tale; so far, and I'm only a third the way through, it has everything you could wish for in a good book. It was a choice for the book club I follow on Facebook.

The weather was even warm enough to put washing out on the line today.

I mentioned that I went to a wedding yesterday in Beverley, East Yorkshire which went very well. A short registry office service followed by pictures in the attached garden. The reception, held a few miles away in Hornsea (on the East Yorkshire coast) was super: short speeches (excellent), superb buffet, table magician who was very good, a singer and a saxophonist accompanying him were fantastic. A great afternoon all round.

The funny bit, and this is what nerves do for you, the bride had a fit of giggles. This came about after an ever-so-slight but definite pause from her when the registrar asked if she knew of any lawful impediment why they shouldn't be married. Comic timing to perfection.

A great weekend, shame it has to finish, I hope you all have a great week. It's a short one for me, working three days, Thursday off flexi-time and then the Bank Holiday Easter weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Smell of Spring

Spring has its own unique smell doesn't it? Particularly now with the blossom flowering across the countryside, new leaves, freshly mown grass and pollen in the air. The dampness and cold mornings just adds to that sense of freshness and renewal.

We trimmed our cherry tree last year and raised its crown to give us some more light and its absolutely full of blossom - more than I've seen for years. The only thing is most of it falls into the small pond, but it's easily fished out (excuse the pun) with a small net. I have noticed that the magnolia trees everywhere this spring are magnificent.

Its a shame that the air freshener companies can't bottle 'spring.' Sure they can do fresh; they can do fragranced fresh, but they can't replicate 'spring'.

I was minding my own business at work today having a pleasant conversation with a young woman. I happened to be noshing on a banana between sentences and the banana became unexpectedly crunchy.

My crown had fallen off. Fortunately, I managed to rescue it and apart from a gap in my teeth, all is well. My dentist will try to re-cement it next Tuesday. The moral of this story is don't trust bananas despite the fact that look and behave all innocent and coy!

I'm going to a wedding tomorrow afternoon in Beverley in East Yorkshire. The groom is Barry and the bride is Shirley Ann and I wish them well and I am looking forward to the wedding and the reception. They fly to Vietnam for a trekking holiday on Monday - lucky them. It's the second time Shirley has been after going there to find her son after the terrible tsunami a few years ago (successfully thank goodness) and I'm sure they will both love it.

My other half had visitors tonight so I disappeared to the supermarket to get a couple of cards and went and sat at the Humber Bridge viewing site for half an hour writing the cards and listening to the excellent 'Friday Night is Music Night' on BBC Radio 2. The poorish picture at the top was taken with my little Lumix resting on my rear view door mirror.

I haven't heard any good jokes lately, so I'll pinch one from the comedian Jimmy Car. "The makers of Persil, have been fined £93 million, for price fixing. Price fixing? Surely that's money laundering."

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Hello Flower...

I hope everyone is well this Saturday which got off to a brilliant start with some big yellow thing in the sky - erm... the Sun! At last.

As is the custom here, welcome to new follower 'Morningaj.'

Apart from a bit of shopping to prepare for our week away in London for a break and to get the kids enough food in to feed an army, the day has been spent in the garden. I've also bought a pack of 'post-its' in bright fluorescent yellow to fix reminders throughout the house for the children: 'dishwasher,' 'hoover,' 'rubbish bin,' 'cat food,' 'this way to the washing machine,' etc.

The lawn has had it's first cut this morning and I've cheated a little really, I've cut it too short which I guess you should never really do especially at this time of the year, but it picked up all the rogue leaves, twigs, bits of other detritus to save me raking it all up. Still it looks okay for now. The compost bin produced three barrows of lovely rich stuff which is now in the borders and in the top of the pots.

The top of the fountain was damaged by the frost and snow this year and when my eldest lad and I came to clean it out ready for the spring, it was cracked and badly damaged. We put it back together and it's working okay, but the pond at the bottom is leaking so it has no fish in it at the moment. I can't decide whether or not to fill it with soil or repair it and put the fish back in. The problem is finding something to line the inside of the concrete section fountain pond with (liner is difficult) and was thinking along the lines of fibre glass. I can feel research coming on. These days you just 'Google' every conceivable problem.
 

The miniature daffs are in flower and the flowering blackcurrant is out. Some of the heather I planted last year has survived the snow and is in flower and the dicentra, 'bleeding heart' is about two feet high - the heart shaped flowers won't be far away now. The thing that seals springs arrival for me is the honey bees and midges that are out in force. The fish in the ponds are now eagerly feeding with wheatgerm even though the water is still cool.

A cuppa, while sat on the garden seat listening to a blue tit singing away in the tree just a few feet away was just dreamy in the warmish fresh air. The long tailed tits are just starting to appear along with the goldcrests, a sure sign of the birds returning for the spring entertainment. They are so funny to watch. The robins are around in pairs too.

The week has been a good one for a number of reasons, lots achieved at work and the first night of the healing group that I was invited to as a healer went off really well on Thursday night. I met a couple of retired ex work colleagues on Friday tea-time for a drink (non-alcoholic in my case, sadly) and a catch up for an hour at a local and a Tarot card reading I did on Friday night went really well with a positive and confirmed spirit link for the sitter and that rounded off the week.

So, I can hear my other half hoovering, getting the house ready for us going away so I best get the kettle on to make her a cuppa to keep her strength up so she can carry on with the domestic chores (so I can listen to the football on the Internet radio).

I'll keep you posted with what we get up to in the capital next week because I think the hotel has free wi-fi connections.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Sunshine and Optimism

I hope you've all had a good week and the sunshine has seemed to have brought a little optimism about the place which is very welcome indeed.

I've just come back from doing Tarot readings for a couple of dear friends and distant work colleagues and have enjoyed a lovely relaxing night in good company. G was slightly worried about having a reading, she's never had one before and right up to me turning up was considering whether or not to cancel. The reading went ahead and was done with compassion, truth and tact and in fact was entirely positive as I knew it would be. Both friends will give a small donation to charity for the readings which they said they enjoyed which is fantastic and I am grateful to them for their hospitality and generosity to good causes.

Well I have so much to do in the garden this weekend. I was in Liverpool for the first decent weekend for months last weekend so missed out so I'm going to have to graft to get the place tidied up, trimming and pruning done and what I can't recycle and compost, get off to the tip.

My compost bin has filled up during the winter with peelings from the kitchen that are perfectly preserved in the cold and haven't started to rot down at all, but I guess after the first lawn trim in a couple of weeks, the grass clippings will help to get some warmth going as it decomposes and starts the composting processes going. I need to put the compost from the bottom of the bin on the borders.

Signs are about of growth: the daffs are slow this year bit the snowdrops are just flowering and the birds are chasing each other. The grass verges on the city's dual carriageways are full of crocus and the purples, yellows and white are adding much needed colour to faded and washed out green grass. Nights are pulling out and I went to work in a fleece rather than a padded jacket today!

Time for a list, haven't done one for a while.

Although I'm 30+ years out of practice in the art of picking up members of the opposite gender, there are some lines I'd definitely NOT use...

"You wanna see my collection of Jack the Ripper memorabilia?"
"Let's make the most of this because I'm only out on day release."
"Excuse me while I use my phone. I have to ring my mother if I'm going to be out after nine thirty."
"Who wants safe sex anyway?"
"It's late - you'll do."
"I work in a slaughterhouse - how about you?"
"What are your views on handcuffs?"
"I'm a lawyer - Trust me!"
"You'd be a real babe if you lost three stones."

Have a great weekend.

Chat soon

Ta-ra
Thanks to Goeff Tibballs for the lines

Spring Weather Arrives...

Spring has arrived I think. It's a sunny warm-ish balmy day at around 14 degrees Celsius. Today the grass has had its second cut and a scarify to take the moss out. Some spring bulbs I planted are coming through nicely and the daffodils are just in flower and the yellows and oranges are bright in the sunshine. The purple hellebore (Christmas rose) is magnificent providing a lovely backdrop and contrast to the daffs.

Taking a breather, I have noticed a blue tit dipping in and out of a bird box that I placed about 12 foot high on a sycamore tree facing south east. I'm going to try and get a photograph of it with my Canon EOS 40D and 70-300 zoom lens on a tripod and remote so I can keep perfectly still and not disturb it. A female blackbird is collecting moss and building her nest in a yew tree next to my garden pond. Dunlins are frolicking and displaying and chasing each other frantically round the garden.

Doesn't it make you feel well with the sun on your back and warm air filling your lungs with the deep scent of newly cut grass?

All is well with the world here in East Yorkshire.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

Ne'er cast a clout 'till May is out...

What do you call it when worms take over the world? Global Worming!

Spring seems to be here and the birds are singing again. Although there is a warning of colder weather returning soon, going to work and going home in daylight makes all the difference. I noticed a neighbour’s garden has drifts of snowdrops in flower and with fewer frosts I actually had the window at work open these last two days.

I love the garden and I don’t really touch it at all after picking up the last of the leaves in mid December. Two months absence will be at an end next week when I have a few days off work and tidying up ready for the year ahead starts in earnest. The fish will be looking forward to a few bits of wheat germ based food after a winter of abstinence – something they can digest easily. I won’t clean the pond out just yet; they don’t like being disturbed too much when they are torpid. I’ve had the pond waterfall going all winter and that’s kept the water reasonably filtered and clear for them.

Sitting in the garden at dusk is magical this time of year. The air is generally still, the cloud formations are so attractive; the birdsong is clear and melodious and when it gets chilly, a hot cup of tea and a warm fire beckons.

The grass has survived well and I have some compost from a compost bin with last year’s green kitchen waste and clippings that need to be forked in around the borders. I will be pruning some shrubs and getting ready to sit out on a tidy patio.

This is the only real exercise I get and am thoroughly looking forward to it. I only wish I could afford Garden Force to come in and give me some ideas for a small patio for us to sit on in the middle of the garden.

Ne'er cast a clout 'till May is out... I can't give you a literal translation, but essential it means don't take a chance in taking any layers of clothes off until June arrives, because this country is famous for its last minute chilly spells as we get lulled into a false sense of security.

Chat soon

Ta-ra