Cherry Blossom Time

 We had a very unusual Christmas present last year.

It was a cherry tree for a year from Rentacherry in Northiam.

Each year they send you 6 e.mails to tell us how things are going. The last one told us about the blossom weekend.

We reserved our places for Saturday 23rd. and several members of the family accompanied us.

The weather was perfect.

We parked in the field and walked the short distance to the farm. The children had a quiz set up round the orchard which was in full bloom. Gentle breezes drifted petals around us like snow.

Here is Alfie completing his quiz sheet with my sister.

We bought locally made sausages for our next sausage sizzle, some cherry juice made from 3 kg of cherries and cherry conserve. Everything was very reasonably priced.

We collected our picnic from the cars and met up with more family. Then we settled our blankets right under our tree to have a rather early lunch (11.15)
 

It was delightful.

Next it was cream teas and cherry icecream. Lovely.

We walked right round the orchard once again so my nephews could do the quiz. We chatted to a man in his garden adjoining the field and he told us some interesting facts.

There are certain days in spring when the cherry blossom is very vulnerable to frost. If frost is forecast the farmer Michael, drives around the rows all night with a blower dissipating the threatened cold. The neighbour said it was very noisy and they didn`t get any sleep on those nights. Michael gives them a tree every year in compensation.

The blossom is very beautiful.

Obviously there are millions of flowers which need pollinating so at various intervals there were huge yellow bee homes with all kinds of bees going in and out.

It was a lovely day out and we are looking forward to the harvest which should be at the end of July.

 

Many thanks Tim and Anne.

 

Snowstorms and Bluebell Fairies

April has begun in a very strange way. On 1st. we woke to a snowstorm and lay in bed watching huge snowflakes swirling by. Which is all a bit weird, seeing as last week we sat outside for breakfast and were using suntan lotion.

Today has been very sunny but cold. The woods are looking so beautiful.

 

There`s not much of a theme to my latest crafts so its a bit of an odd collection.

Sometimes my items are dictated by fabrics and materials I am sorting through. Sometimes they are dictated by the seasons or something I have seen.

In our nearby woods, the bluebells are just beginning to show their bells. And somebody gave me a cone of very pretty glittery wool. So I was inspired to make bluebell fairies.

 I have found a new way to make wings. I often use lei lei flowers for fairy dresses but this time I spread the 5 petalled flowers on a plastic lid, painted them with pva glue, allowed them to dry and then cut away one petal to make a butterfly shape. I drew on veins with a gold pen. The pva gave them a bit of a more substantial feel.

These three are dancing through the fairy garden.

Steve has been making toadstools from our old apple tree branches. They are going in the gnome home. I love them.

The tiny mice are always popular with the children. I love using tiny scraps to make them. A good stash buster.

Recently I cut up some tray cloths embroidered by me on various Greek holidays. I made bunting with them. I decided to recycle the cotton lace.

I used it to decorate these lavender bags. They have a strip of patchwork in between.

And finally a crochet donkey.

 

 

For the last few nights everything has been covered in both greenhouses .... with fleece and net curtains. The tomato plants which had seemed to have come to a standstill, loved the extra warmth provided by said fleece and plastic propagator lids. Now they have really taken away. All in all I think the growing season is a little behind last year.

Sure it will soon catch up.