What did I do on this Momentous Day?

 This was a momentous day for families, as we begin to ease out of lock-down. I am excited about our plans for the week

We began our day with tai chi which set us up nicely. I decided to record the day in photographs so here they are.

The weather was lovely for a start.

I had a warm start in the greenhouse pricking out aubergines, French marigolds and sowing the next seeds.

Next I put the red and green lettuces into the new nursery bed. They are covered over for the night

I planted up the two yellow trucks with sedum in a very well draining soil mix. Steve had drilled holes in base. They will be going in the tortoise run.
 

Over a teabreak I read the latest Fothergills catalogue which was very interesting ..... and I wired kebab sticks into the gnomes so that they will stand in their new gnome home.

 And I completed a large square for WI.

After lunch I made our own gnome home under the apple tree in shade. I added a wild primrose (they seed themselves all over our garden) and some helxine.

 

I planted a beautiful purple clematis at the back of a raised bed without snapping any of the new shoots. It has been transferred.

 

 

I cleared all the plants in pots from the top of the raised bed, removed all the carpet and forked over the second dahlia bed.

I checked on my sweetpeas ....

..... and other seeds, as I watered.

 

 

I planted up three pots of erigeron.

And spotted four butterflies ... two brimstones and a peacock, not sure of the fourth.

A final look at the fritilliaries.

 

And a glass of wine in the garden room.

Oh and I did see my sister this morning and Steve completed the paving round my new greenhouse.

Happy productive days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mabel`s Make-over

 Quite honestly I do not know if this is the original Mabel because each scarecrow has been reincarnated several times.

Luckily this time she did not need a new head or hair and even the basic body was OK with a bit of a boob job (extra stuffing)

But she was in dire need of new clothes .... like most of us ..... if only to boost egos.

I found an old brightly coloured skirt of mine and a diaphanous sundress, a bit of stuffing in the old scarf turned inside out and a new hat and voila ....

....then we found her a spot for the summer.

Paula and I walked to the fairy willow tree area to see what needs sprucing up.

A branch had cracked away from the ancient willow but is still attached. 

I realised that I had not ventured there last year at all. The little path leading in, is delightful and different than before.

We looked at nooks and crannies for fairies and discussed some new ideas.

 

Other ideas for the gnome home are in the first stages of creation and I will post here when they are finished.

 

 

Cosy Cuddles and Tortoise Runs

The garden is looking pretty good with many beds ready for the vegetable planting. We are much further on than usual and I put this down to the lovely weather we had in February. The ground is raking down to a fine tilth. Steve has planted onions, parsnips, beetroot and carrots. Every time we go, I take a large tray of plants to get in, mostly perenniels.

 The tiny orchard is budding up nicely with a bit more room, as we removed one unproductive apple tree last autumn. The ground underneath the trees is very rough and uneven. I am wondering how to smooth it over. Perhaps an old-fashioned garden roller.

 I have strimmed the longest clumps of grass, all the edges are trimmed, though some bed edges could do with another cut.

 The ladybirds are all spruced up and perched around the garden ready to be "spotted." There is only one bee left.

 Anne has been busy creating a new run for the tortoises. Anyone who thinks this is the wrong word to describe a tortoise home, should watch them as they try to escape. Not so slow as you would imagine. They are still in hibernation but should be waking up very soon.

 The sky was so very blue, the clouds fluffy and the sun so warm. We sat outside for our teabreak. What a delightful day to be at the garden.

I spent some time creating the fairy cave the other day. This proved popular with the children last year, when they were eventually allowed to come.

I have a new idea for this corner area. It is still forming in my mind but watch this space. It involves gnomes or possibly elves

We lost one of the bunnies but these two are having a cosy cuddle in warm sunshine.
 

The frogs are active and Anne has spotted a newt. I have planted a honeysuckle at the back of the pond. The water is clear here, but yesterday it was cloudy and we wondered whether we have had some ducks stirring up the sediment.

 

A lovely visit getting to grips with the last rather claggy flower bed and more soil preparation.

Lock-Down Jacket

 My lock-down jacket is complete.

I was inspired by my cousin who made crochet tops for her sisters. I thought it would take me very nicely through this latest lock-down. I had plenty of bright coloured wool but had to buy more black. 

It`s a very simple granny square almost flower-like, edged with black. I can make four in one hour so very quick.

It needed to be, since I had to make 152. I didn`t know this at the beginning and although I had some idea of the pattern, I had to adapt it as I went along.

The layout patterns I found on Pinterest only gave me a rough idea and I changed my original plan several times and also made mistakes. A lot depends on the size of square you decide to make.

Here is the plan as it turned out.

It was an easy craft to pick up and do in teabreaks between gardening jobs. On my best day I made 18 .... a wet, miserable and cold day.

I used zig zag slipstitich to join the squares and sewed it up as I went along. Each square had 10 ends to sew in!!!

My first mistake was to make the sleeves too wide which gave it a clumsy look so I was initially pleased because I had 20 squares spare. They soon got used up when I found that I needed an overlap at the front and therefore 16 more.

I also unpicked the wrong strips!!

To finish I did a double row of single crochet right round including the sleeves.

And here it is finished off.

Some last minute jobs still waiting to be done, maybe today seeing as it is raining ....

two big wooden buttons to fasten it up and extra strengthening round the neck.