Royal Military Canal

The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles (45 km) between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh, which was constructed as a defence against the possible invasion of England during the Napolionic Wars..

 http://www.royalmilitarycanal.com/pages/index.asp

As you walk along this canal it is quite strange to think of its past, because it is usually so quiet. You can just hear the sound of traffic on the road which fades as you go further inland. After that it is just the sound of birds..... warblers, (I think)  black-headed gulls and the odd sound of moorhens.

We had a late walk for a change...about 5 p.m. It had just rained so we were anticipating what we might see.

We were not disappointed.

Elderflowers still blooming......

......a wonderful array of grasses covered in pollen......

......transparent orbs of raindrops

on the reeds....

.....an unidentified moth.....

......black spiky Peacock caterpillars all over the nettles....

.......delicate damselflies.....

......and cinnabar moths on the thistle flowers.

I keep pulling up thistles at Freshwinds Garden. Now I am wondering if I should 

leave some for these stunning moths.

And finally on the way home a bank of wild orchids between the Methodist Chapel

and the post office.

Plenty to gladden the heart.

Our Garden Opening Part 2

The weather for our garden opening was fantastic....warm, sunny and not too much wind 

which has been a problem in previous years.

Steve and I had a leisurely morning setting out tables, doing flower arrangements 

and cooking scones and cupcakes.

The Bring and Buy table.

The Crafts table.

A bundle of scarecrows.

Paula drove from Ascot (where it has been Royal Ascot week.) She was here for lunch and then helped out with the teas. No wonder she had a headache at the end of the day.

We just had time to change before the first guests arrived. Then it was non-stop til gone 5.

Thank goodness for Mary (Cook) stepping in to help almost all afternoon with the teas, thank you.

And thanks too, to other people who helped out.

Linda had the first scarecrow for her grandchildren.

Everyone walked round the garden and then settled down for tea and scones in the sunshine.

 

When people began to drift off, we thought we had better do the raffle.

Unfortunately the person who sold most of the tickets (who shall remain nameless) had not written names on all the tickets, nor torn them off and folded them.

There was a mad, frantic rush where almost everyone found themselves tearing, folding and writing!!!

After that it all went smoothly and little Macie, my great-niece won the chocolates, 

which she had wanted in the first place.

A fantastic afternoon, very generous friends and family, and a fantastic result.....

£400 for the local MND Association.

And finally poppies to remember Colin.

Our Garden Opening Part 1

This year we have opened our garden for the MND Association. 

My brother-in-law Colin, died of this disease in 2010.

The Association was very helpful to my sister at that time.

We spent a lot of Saturday tidying and doing last minute jobs around the house and garden.

In the evening I took 70 pictures in the last of the sunshine.

I could have called this post "Garden in Waiting" ........waiting for all our visitors......

family, friends and neighbours.

Here is a selection of the pictures.

 

 

Feverfew and Flea Beetles

The light was incredible this afternoon at Freshwinds. 

Tim was busy shearing sheep in the barn. They tumbled out into the field looking pristine

in short, very white coats.

I put up new strings to support the growth on the tomatoes and Steve completed the raised bed on the left side of the polytunnel. We roasted! and had to come out for air.

I am levelling the sitting area, stamping it down as I go.

When we had our very welcome teabreak, we were inundated by flea beetles which seemed to be attracted to my bright green t.shirt. They were crawling everywhere!!

We enclosed one bed with rabbit wire.....the onions.

I picked a bunch of flowers for my niece Hazel.

I tried to protect the raspberries with more netting.

 

The daisies were striking against the grey skies.

The frothy feverfew in the herb garden has been lovely.

The cornflowers are thick and luscious and the perenniel bed is filling out well considering the activities of the rabbits.

The hops are spreading across the grass until they find somewhere to climb.

The tubs by the loo

are beginning to fill out.

Not long til the barn dance now...12th July.

The barn is nearly clear.