Bees

At the moment the garden is full of the sound of bees. Fortunately I love the flowers that they also enjoy!

Strawberry jam

Not just any Strawberry Jam but Hill Farm Scarlet Beauty!

While I was away last week my little alpine strawberries ripened en masse. The variety is 'Scarlet Beauty' and I was very keen to use them before they got snaffled by the slugs or the pheasant. I looked on the internet to find a recipe using just the small amount (200g) that I had ... the result was 'one punnet strawberry jam'. My quantity made two jars and although it looked pippy it tasted delicious. I mashed some berries but kept half of them whole and added them once the sugar had dissolved. Now I just need to make the scones!

My birthday

I started my birthday with fresh fruit and yoghurt topped with a petal from my birthday pinks! These are a tradition because when I was born my father wore a pink 'pink' in his buttonhole to indicate that he'd had a daughter and he continued to do so on every subsequent one of my birthdays. This year I had wonderful pinks sent from the Isles of Scilly (thanks Liz) and decided to garnish my breakfast with a petal (the whole flower might have been a bit of a mouthful!) Later I went swimming, Dave thought I'd gone mad but I discovered that Hathersage (further north in Derbyshire) has a pool which is both outdoor and heated, so I spent a happy couple of hours floating about while Dave nursed a cup of tea in the spectators pavilion. Then in the evening Joe and Jade made me an amazing cake (so delicious and of course it MUST be healthy as it contains carrots!)

More birthday photos!

Wearing my pink birthday 'pink'.

Everywhere we went today bunting was flying, this was photographed in Hayfield (there are some advantages to having a birthday so close to the Queen's official one). We stopped for a picnic lunch near Stanage Edge and could hear the curlews calling, a magical sound. Later several sheep attempted to sing Happy Birthday to me, although I have a feeling they were hoping we'd feed them!

Time out

As a very, very special birthday treat I got taken to Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons for a once in a lifetime stay. It was glorious and I had an incredible time ... a huge thank you to a very thoughtful husband.

A birthday BBQ

Bunting, light up balloons and a BBQ. Although the weather didn't co-operate we still enjoyed eating outside and I sat until dark enjoying the fire and the view (the others retired eventually to watch football). It was lovely to sit and listen to the rain falling on the barn roof whilst being snug and dry. Incidentally we don't normally measure our balloons but these 'light up' ones came with specific instructions about their inflation!

Felley inspiration

After my late night weeding the 'Felley' effect became even more dramatic as I decided that what I really needed was another border for all the plants that I love and haven't found room for yet, plus all the seedlings that are germinating and need somewhere to go. I planned (two scented beds separated by a seating area), Dave strimmed, I raked up the grass and trimmed the hedge. Watch this space ....

Flat peaches

These peaches are strangely flat but having ripened them in the sunshine they tasted delicious and were perfect for my breakfast. Soon though, probably only a matter of days, I'll have the first of our strawberries to pick, that's if I can beat the birds to the crop!

Dust bathing

Hard to see I know but the photograph shows our sparrows enjoying a dust bath just underneath my rhubarb! There were three of them and for a good ten minutes they whirled like dervishes, enjoying the dry soil. It is very dry, we must have had at least a fortnight with no rain and have had to resort to watering our newly planted roses and some of our vegetables. Storms are forecast but so far we haven't had anything (plus I really just want gentle rain).

Smarter edges

Dave bought some new plastic twine and using this as a guide I was able to cut back my edges so that they look much neater. The soil though is like concrete and the half moon edging tool badly needs sharpening ...