September roundup

Just a couple bits of craft items, I got Christmas fabric to finish a cushion and some yarn for a knitted shawl and a pair of socks, very little in the garden this month.

No clothes, there is just nothing I want, we are not going out enough for me to see things I might like. 

No big spend this month, our trip away was paid for months ago, and our spending money came out of our £2 savings pot, we did fill the car with petrol, which does not happen that often. Daughters birthday treat was factored into this months spend. We got a few kitchen bits in Wilko's last few days sale, with 80% off most things, I still feel so sad this store is gone, it was always busy with shoppers. Anything for the garden is coming out of the referb budget, which is bigger than we wanted, but will be worth it.

No food waste, I'm thankful for the freezer this month as I have frozen loads of tomatoes for winter soups. I have a good supply of blackberries frozen, making our harvest go just that bit further. 

My weight, it's all gone to hell in a handcart, as my mum would have said, too many days out this month and no won't power! Steps are poor, who wants to walk in the rain, and I am still enjoying Pilates class. 

Books

 Jodi Picoult always write a good story, and always about a difficult subject, this was the story of a father who after an accident was on life support, his son, daughter and ex-wife had to decide his future. Whilst the topic of the books was hard, the story was about lives lived, I enjoyed this book. Book 31 read this year.

I love second hand books, I get them from charity shops, online and local selling pages. One recent book purchase online had this inside the cover, look at the beautiful hand writing, don't you want to know who these people are, it's an old garden book, did they love to garden or just look at blooms, it's the same year as the book was published, was it that years must have gift. Oh for a crystal ball. 

My 2021 book has arrived, I got another 30% off and free shipping, so as it was finished, I thought I would take advantage of the savings. I've only imported 4 months of 2022, they updated the site and I'm not loving the new systems. I did say I was going to stop at 10 books, 11 years of post(my 1st book had 2 years together) but Covid changed that, and now I want Molly included in my set of books, she is the last grand child, so they are all in there. 

We had loads of long decking planks left, one of our neighbours said she would like to grow along her sunny fence, beds not too wide, she thought veg, I suggested fruits, they take up less ground space, she loved the idea and came back with measurements for 5 beds, did we have enough, hubby built one bed so they could see if it would work, it did. Hubby is building all of them, using most of the decking, he uses the best bits of the frame for the side corners to hold them together, he is even reusing the old screws, which came out of the decking. Our neighbours hubby has MS and is not able to build them with ease, so my hubby has chosen to help, and at the same time reuse so much of what we don't need. 

We have our date for the hard landscaping, late November which is no problem, for the past few days we have been outside, sorting raised beds, and digging out plants. All my decorative bits are packed in the garage for winter, I have left the bunting out and the string of lights, which are not working, I am hoping it's because it's not dark enough, our lovely neighbour keeps her outside lights on in the darker evenings. 

Storm Agnes did not come far enough east to cause any issues, just a breezy day and a few spots of rain, we had both our Covid and Flu jabs, nice to have them sorted, we both had dentist this week.  I met with an old work mate for lunch on Thursday, I had not seen her this year so far, all's well in her world, lovely photo's of her fast growing granddaughters, just time to chat, we did manage a short walk. Pilates went well, I am really enjoying the classes.

Talking of dentist, ours is lovely, still NHS, and very helpful, sat in waiting room listening as you do, one man was told they do have an open waiting list, but the wait is 3 years, another lady registered with the practice came in with tooth ache, they could not fit her in for a week and was told to call 111. I'm not surprised, just another part of our health care in crisis. We booked our next appointment as we left, knowing nearer the time we will arrange our lives so we don't need to change the appointment. 

Today and tomorrow is all about filling the raised beds, the top soil will arrive this morning, planting shrubs and putting everything tidy. The garden is a mess, there is a huge hole where the decking was, we are moving pots to new homes and ensuring everything is clear for the landscaper. 

Late September garden

This little half pot is years old, I think it's designed to hang on a wall, I prefer it on the ground, with tiny blooms in, it has done well all summer, soon I will move this plant to a raised bed in hope it survives our winter, it won't survive in here. As yet I have never found anything which loves flowers to live in this pot through the cooler wet months. 

My begonia's are mostly doing well, the two chimney pots have finished, I think maybe a pigeon landed on them, as the blooms stems were flattened and broken on both pots. These will just keep going until the frost arrive, and then disappear back into their pots until next year. Only one of these will go into my greenhouse, I have already popped another in there with my geraniums, which  also hate being cold and wet.  

There are still loads of blooms around the place, the fuchsias are all doing well, these coleus won't last much longer, I have taken a cutting from each to grow as a houseplant this winter, they are very easy to root in water. This bed by my back door will be dug out in the next couple of weeks, ready for the new ground works. 

My blackberries and raspberries are both still giving small harvest, enough for popping on my porridge most mornings. I have picked loads of tomatoes, soon I will pick the green ones to ripen inside. This side of the garden is closing down again, I have been very pleased with every thing this year. 

Our Magnolia tree is blooming again, we always have the blooms before the leaves in spring, that's when the tree turns pink, we do have a few blooms most of the summer, it is a healthy tree. Hubby cut it back last month, just before the rains came, with the mixed weather this year came loads of new growth. We are going to cut the top, to keep the tree a nice size, so with loads of new growth comes these blooms. 

My daughter passed this book to me as a good read, she was not wrong, it started much as a love story, in a very modern way, which is not normally my type of read, but as it was recommended I kept going. I'm not saying anything regarding the very clever plot, all through the book it was very entertaining, just lives revealing themselves, I will look for more of her books, book 30 read this year.

Saturday night I slept over at daughters, her college friends were having a night out, her hubby was in Japan with F1 IT team, so I happily helped out. None of her three sleep past 6am, so a early start on Sunday but loads of fun, we had lunch out in a local Harvester, I don't think I will be going back, I'm not sure if I am just too fussy, I did not enjoy my meal, all 3 children ate theirs, so maybe they should have bonus points for that. A lazy evening watching Strickly on catch up and a early night.

Monday was very sunny, I did not get much done outside, the morning flew by, I did walk to the village and a quick tidy around the place, both cats are now sleeping back inside their igloo's, which means there aren't so many fur patches on the rug. Hubby was tired when he got home, so a lazy rest of the day.

Tuesday sign group meet over the road at my neighbours house, so a much shorter morning without traveling time, we popped into town in the afternoon, did not stay long, then restful time at home, hubby worked out how much top soil we require and booked a delivery. Today we have our covid jab in the morning, then it's see how we feel, another dry day, so hopefully we can do more outside. 

Today, I'm......

My alarm is always set in summer at 7am, Monday to Friday, through the winter it's later at 8am, if I'm woken by the alarm it's a weekday, we both eat breakfast at our desk in our office, looking at our computers, the same way as I started most of my working days, it's a habit we have not broken, I love catching up with blogs. We can spend as much time here as we want, some days when we have things to do, it's a quick stop. 

Mornings are for getting jobs done, house work, laundry, maybe walk to the shops in our village, or the best, work out in the garden, if the sun is shinning I am always outside, our little patch of green is everything to me. This lovely seating area is our favourite coffee spot, this view has already changed so much, moving the table has made our garden feel much bigger.

Afternoons are our time, we do go out but not to often, hubby reads, I also love to read or craft, if I have anything bigger to do, it's done in afternoons. My love of creating things keeps me busy, I don't mind rainy days, I can always find things to do, my sewing machine comes out in the afternoons, other time we have the younger grand children, very different time for us, but just as enjoyable.

Evenings are again the same, we both like to watch news at 6pm, we have already had our evening meal, most nights we will turn off TV, read and listen to music, we do have favourite programmes we like to watch, which we tune in or watch on catch up, it's rare for our TV to be on all evening. It is really rare for us to go out, I do have my Pilates class on Thursday at 6pm. 

Like so many my days are set, routine has been in the whole of my life, growing up in a large family, we all had to fit together, my mum was very good at 'everything in it's time and place', our home and us were always neat, clean and tidy. Even now years later I hear my mum's voice, she still guides me, in my case I did grow into my mum, and I see my daughter becoming a bit of me and I love it. 

I often read bloggers, who say 'I've not done much, I've not much to tell you', I often feel the same, but as I read blogs, it's not about the photo's (yes in my mind they do help), it's about your words, who you are, what you are thinking. Getting through a day at home, can be hard work, we all get the feeling of 'why did I come into this room' or as I make a cup of coffee, I see something to put away, which I do, which leads me to another task, and then twenty minutes later I notice my cold cup of coffee. Even doing nothing can take all day, now I'm retired I have the most precious things, time, and freedom of how I will use it. Weekends are different, no alarm, we never go out much, staying away from crowds of families having their leisure time. 

So if you think your life is boring, nope, we love to read you are doing OK, or if not we can support you, sat here at my computer every morning, I love to see names pop up and catch up with you all. So today slightly different, I'm home alone, plan to get outside if the weather stays nice, later reading and resting, hubby should be home mid afternoon, then another lazy evening together. 

What are you doing today? 

Repurposing

I have 5 cross stitch designs made into small decorative Christmas cushions,  these are tiny, I have not been using them much as they get thrown around or sat on. I don't want to get rid of them, so I have a plan, firstly I dismantle the cushions ensuring the canvas is not damaged.

I cut out a piece of calico the size of an existing cushion, I placed 4 pieces, it was too crowded with 5 designs, I have stitched them on, this has been the easy bit. This will give the cover strength and help stop the canvas from stretching. I have a good stash of Christmas fabrics, and thought I would do some sort of patchwork, but it was too busy. I tried cutting panels in just one simple design, but I'm not sure I like it. 

And here it is, a few weeks later, I found the fabric in our local shop, it's just perfect, not plain, not too fancy with gold bling, I cut holes in the fabric and then stitched along the edge where I had folded back the fabric, I have done this way before, it works for me. I did unpick from the backing as I wanted each hole to be level and along the pattern edges to look neat, it probably would have been OK not unpicking each panel, but I am a neat freak and I won't take a risk they were not perfect. 

The final small design, I popped on the back, it looks good here, won't be seen much, but I know it's there, I had a cushion inner I purchased a while ago, I did have to cut it down a bit, originally I was just going to make this into a cover to go over another cushion, but I sent the cushion to the charity shop.

We all love a robin, this is my first attempt at needle felting one, I have mixed feelings about him, he does look like a robin, I do like his wings and tail, I don't like his red breast, it's too much just one colour, and the edges need to be broken up, his eyes were a total mistake, I used fibre, I was being lazy, I do have tiny shiny black beads, which would have looked much better, I will have a play and see if I can improve him. 

I do love these project which start with a simple idea and grow as I work on them, some how I always manage to get them looking right, I have some soft red fabric which would have been great to use but it was not wide enough, I used it for the children's stockings, made here, I can't remember where I purchased the fabric, and I don't think they would still have any in stock, that's the down side of keeping and using your stash. It did take a couple of weeks to find the right fabric, but well worth the wait. 

I've finished knitting my sisters socks, I have my sewing machine out, I have more badges to sew on my friends sons blanket, he had a trip to Canada in the summer, we have ordered him a bigger badge as he could not find one on his trip, his mum agreed he will love it.

Not been outside much, hubby did manage to make the final veg bed, we are looking to dig in the flower bed, once it is in place we can order the huge bag of topsoil, then I will move a few plants from the bed infront of the greenhouse to the new bed. Any purchases for the garden is coming out of our garden budget, at this point I only need topsoil and 1 more of our black railings.

Finishes

 I have finished my leftie shawl, this is a gift, I love knitting this design, it's simple but so beautiful. I do sort the ends as I am knitting, it's a job I don't like, so leaving them all to the finish would make the end of the project not so enjoyable. The leaves make an interesting design, I have made it in many different colours. 

These socks are for my sister, part of her Christmas gift, she can knit, but chooses not too, she has been giving me hints for a while now. This will be the last part of her and her partners Christmas gift. I don't have any other gifts to make this year. They should be finished in a couple of evenings, a simple stocking stitch, with the yarn doing all the work. 

I had another go at making a cat at home, using all the bits I already have, it's much easier to make them a second time, as I understand how the final cat should look. I made the head and features bigger this time, maybe a bit too big, he still looks good, I love the mixed colour fibre I am using and I have a plan to use it again. 

The weather is keeping us inside, which is good as it makes hubby slow down, he is itching to get the raised beds done so he can dig them in, I would rather he paced himself and ensure he is not too tired. I get my fix from houseplants on days I can't get out, both these plants are my stars at the moment, the cactus is in the bathroom and full of colour, the bulb, Albuca Spiralis Frizzle Sizzle is on my desk and is growing, as I have said often, I love leaves which curl. 

Another book finished, I got this one from the works, from the start I was not sure, it felt like one of those books where everyone was young, successful and having a perfect life, I know loads of people love books like that. I did enjoy the plot, not as much as others I have read, I guessed the conclusion, but not totally how she would finish the book. Book 29 read this year.

Sunday morning and at bedtime we had thunder and lightning, with heavy rain most of the time in-between, Monday started dull, we again had heavy rain in the morning, so plenty of inside time, crafting, I have almost finished another task, I hope to be able to post soon. 

Tuesday we met with sign ladies at a local garden centre for coffee, we did have a walk around, with all the work going on in the garden, I did not purchase anything, we did look at furniture, we hoped there may have been something in the end of season sales we liked, not this time. It was cold and windy outside, the season has changed, sadly this week, I'm wearing long trousers, socks and trainers, I have also pulled out a warm knitted cardigan, summer has departed. Hubby is still wearing shorts. 

Wednesday was another wet and windy day, we walked to the village,  which was quiet, our market had been called off, we got a brilliant bargain in Iceland, Felixstowe pouches, 2 big boxes for£20, we got 4 boxes, so our cats are sorted for months to come.

I did have a bit of a wobble for a while, on seeing the size of the veg beds and the proposed new layout, was I making the right decisions, I'm closer to 70 than young, was this going to be too much for me to cope with. I have wanted to grow veg ever since we moved here, but nothing we did worked for me, so doubts crept in, I know once the veg beds are put in place they won't look so huge, and once I start planting they will become small quickly. I have to trust myself and my hubby, who will ensure things are done right, the landscaper will sort the rest closer to the house, we are just waiting for a start date. I have moved tender plants into my greenhouse, I plan to move other pots up to the area around the greenhouse, just until the work has been done, then I have to sneak them back nearer to the house.  

Messy

Our garden is looking very different, hubby has lifted all the decking, found a rats nest, which was not being used anymore, quite a few areas of the frame have been chewed where they could not dig below. Hubby put some planks back close to the house for safety.

The decking is a big space, which for the past couple of years we have not used. We have two sections under the lawn where the rats tried tunnelling, which now is not level difficult to walk on.

These decking board hubby is going to make into three raised beds for me, recycling at its best. We have measured the top part of the lawn, which will be my space, hubby is happy to make the frames, I'm getting excited.

Beds are being formed, one at the back will be for veg, hubby will make the sides just a bit higher, and make a second one. The one at the front will be my flower bed, the sides won't be as high. The beds do look high, but they will be sunk into the lawn, the flower bed becoming the same height as the other beds.

We have our quotes, only 3, one man, who we have used before chose to ignore our request, it's happened before, normally when our neighbour has been vocal. One young man (at our age they are all young men) impressed us, he really understood what we wanted, suggested a couple of useful tweaks, he is not the cheapest, I am leaning towards him. The quotes varied, one guy did not want to remove the concrete in front of garage and raise the level of the paving, which we are not happy with, so we discarded his quote, he was the cheapest. 

Hubby and I have a month to create the back area, it would be good to sort the needed top soil before the paving is done. I will dig my compost bin out and use in all 3 beds, the beds will be dug down, so we are back on the soil below, knowing hubby the work won't take much longer.

Sorry I should have said in my last post, Molly is much better, it has put her potty training back, as she is worried doing a wee is going to hurt. I can't state how angry I am with their surgery  who always wait until closing time to call back and send daughter to A&E, keeping to the guidelines,  I do feel for our local hospital, they have enough to do without under preforming doctors. The NHS needs a good shake up to get each section working properly again, A&E should be the last option, not default for surgery's whose doctors can't or won't do their role.

Busy, busy

Wednesday it was youngest daughter's birthday, so I took her out to lunch, we went into Portsmouth, Southsea, walked along the beach and had lunch in a beach side restaurant, watching the waves, the weather was kind, bright and warm. Molly was with us, boys were at school and nursery, three generations of females, just a few hours, but so much fun, Molly, now is very vocal, very cute and very cheeky.

Thursday we popped into town, got every thing on our list, a few more Christmas gifts, had a look in a few shops for ideas. Wilko is still open, but hardly any stock left, I got a couple more bean pole sets, useful for height in the garden, a few more packs of bulbs came home with me.

Friday I did another needle felting course in our local arts centre, the tutor was the same lady as before, making Luscious ladies, who gave me skills to make at home, this time we made a cat, less padding along the body and limbs, I now have skills to start making different animals, the short course was not too expensive, the classes are small, only 2 people on the day, which is good for learning, the other lady was on the wet felting course I did earlier in the year, it was nice to catch up. 

The tutors cat.

Another fantastic read, we are so lucky to have so many great authors, set on Somerset and Devon border, towns which I know, not that it mattered. Well written,  clever plot, a cold case, a few clues which gets every thing going, another author to add to my list. Book 28 read this year.

Today I am home alone, hubby is out until mid afternoon, I have Molly and Will for a couple hours, whilst mummy takes George to view some schools, with his disabilities, Will's school is not the best choice for him, so huge choices have to be made. Tomorrow I am out with all 3 children and mummy to a DS charity picnic, I hope the weather is going to be kind. 

My last post had loads of interest and comments, I start and end my day in autumn, in between is summer for as long as I can have it, so porridge for breakfast, salad for lunch and these evening a slightly more hearty meal. It feels true September here and we worship any sunny days we have, making the most of being outside whilst we can. 

I have a few projects nearing the finish line, but I also have a busy couple of weeks, things will be finished as I find time. Hubby is outside in the garden working, he has removed all the screws from the decking, he has left the planks down, they are not moving, we just have to be careful for a while, he needed to know where the rats have been going. We are in full swing on plans, looking at paving and making decisions on how things will be done, happily my plans work for everyone involved.  

Look both ways

 Soon I will be swapping sandals for trainers, always a sad day as I prefer to keep my toes out in the open, I will try to put off the day for as long as I can. Hubby will wear shorts for a couple of weeks longer than I, the season is changing. I do have warm home knitted socks and cardigans to wear.

I will miss all the summer colour from blooms in the garden, leaves on the trees, blue skies and all the wildlife which visits our garden, I do not have too many winter plants, I do love the shape of the bare trees, watching the birds hop through the branches to get to feeders. We feed birds all through the year, thus ensuring we have something to watch most days.

I am looking forward to homemade vegetable soups and rolls, always a winner here at lunchtime. We always eat healthy, but as autumn comes, our meals are simple and filling, less coffee and snacks outside, better for my waistband, the outside furniture will be packed away until warmer times return. Plenty of crafting and reading time ahead.

Can I mention the C word, I purchased a couple of books for Will this week, and a lovely doll for Molly, plus a few bits for the food parcels I am doing. We have a couple of trips away late November, early December, both will require more than normal spending money, so I am trying to get ahead of the game. I think daughter will say 'not another doll', but this is the first one we have purchased for Molly. Will loves all modern encyclopaedias, so both of these will be well read. I also got all the dried fruit for my 3 cakes, which I will bake next month.

The change of seasons doesn't happen on one day here, things filter through, small steps, change of routine, we are governed mainly by our weather, some years September is warm and sunny and it can be October before bigger changes are made. But the season will change, and I will learn to enjoy ours days as we change to the environment around us.

We have had landscapers in to view our new plans for the garden, as seen here, much earlier than expected, hubby took up some of the decking and found loads of signs of activity from rats, we can see they are coming in from next door. So he wants to get things done to stop any more issues before the colder weather stops ground work being done, we have two people we have used before and two others just to see what they say about my plans, what to use and the cost. 

Monday evening Molly was unwell, she has a water infection, again mummy called the doctors surgery, to be told we won't see your 2 year old child, take her to hospital, so I spent 4 hours babysitting the boys. It's crazy, lazy and dangerous, for doctors not to do their duty when their patients are young or old and sick, I'm not saying all doctors are this way, our local surgery is just brilliant, we both have booked our flu jabs, and are waiting to be called for covid jabs, always much earlier than our other surgery here in the village.  Both hubby and I are much better, still sniffing, the results being with the younger two, they love to share any germs. 

Enjoying the moment

Knit and natter was good fun, I met a lady who lives 3 doors down from our house, a lovely mixture of ladies, the guys just stopped to chat and move on, one lady wanted to knit something different, so I suggested socks, Winwick mum is the queen of socks, so I printed this free pattern, I got myself a ball of yarn and we can knit together. There is another meeting at the end of the month, I will try and go again. 

Grace loves this side of our bench, it's in dappled shade all day, with cool air coming up, a perfect spot to sleep, she is a bit deaf, so she sleeps soundly, I can walk up to her, take a photo and not disturb her, so pleasing she feels so safe in our garden. Purdy has a few spots she likes to sleep, if I walk towards her, she jumps up, so no photo's of her. 

We had another family BBQ on Saturday, this time hubby got out the pool, the little ones enjoyed themselves, splashing for ages, it's placed in the shade of the Magnolia tree, all the water was scooped out and used around the garden later in the evening. There is nothing better than happy children squealing and splashing water. All the wasted water disappeared on our fake grass, which makes it perfect for them to run and play on. We see loads of things on Internet, reference how hot the plastic grass gets, whilst ours can be warm, it's never too hot, our cats lay on it, I sit on it without issues. Molly and George spent the most time in the pool, it's in shadow most of the afternoon, just simple pure fun.

Important sewing, Chris Moose was hand made by myself, many years ago for hubby, he never had a soft toy as a child, he was suffering from old age, (Chris not hubby), he is over 30 years old, coming apart at seams. Now his legs are all secure, and his antlers are stitched to his ears, this helps them stand up. The red Christmas material used on feet and ears have all faded but intact, the felt on his antlers is beginning to thin, but for now they will be OK. He sits on a cushion in our bedroom, Will was so pleased to see him fixed.

Another perfect few days, we have spent some time outside, there is some shade in our garden, we do like to be outside, we are not doing much in the daytime, Saturday was a perfect family day, made special as Will stayed for a sleepover, we had takeaway pizza later, it's Wills favourite. Both Molly and George slept in the car journey home, mummy had to wake them up, everyone had an early night.

Sunday as normal when Will sleeps over was an 6.30am start, it was warm 17° outside, so the door was opened to the garden, it was good to feel cool for a change. We did get rain, it felt so refreshing, lasted all day, enough for the garden to have a good soak, water butts are full again, we were lucky George had a party to go to on Sunday, so we had our family BBQ on the sunniest day of the weekend. I drove Will, home, had cuddles from the little ones and then back home for a relaxing afternoon and evening.

I am sniffing and sneezing, not sure if it's germs from the little ones, or just from sitting in the pool with them, hubby is the same, if we get any worse will have to take a covid test.

Today other than a walk to our village, I have nothing planned, I hope to do some craft, maybe get my sewing machine out. I have finished editing my 2021 book, I am hoping for another email with a good discount soon, I have started importing 2022, I am on a roll. 

Late summer colour.

I adore this bed, the planting is perfect to my taste, and this tiny space gives me colour for most of the year, it's the first thing you see stepping out of our kitchen door. 

Another area transformed, we don't use this space, the flies and smells are really bad at this time of year, but it still needs to work and look good, next year I hope to get the table and chairs dipped and powder coated white, it's nice to look at. 

This side bed improves each summer, it's the only bed which is allowed to overgrow, with underplanting of bizzy lizzies, plenty of colour, I don't cut back this bed over winter, allowing bugs to get use out of the area. All my bits on the shelf will stay until the weather changes, I will then pop them in the garage until next spring. I love to see the shadow of our towels drying on our line. 

The bed in front of the greenhouse has always been a bit of a struggle, this is where our heavy clay is at it worse, this year I have had plenty of colour, I am hoping I have treated the clay and broke it down, these begonia bedding plants will bloom until the frost come. I have big plans for here next spring. 

I have never been a fan of fuchsia's, but hubby likes them, this plant has been in many places in the garden, this is it's 3rd year here in the raised bed, it tumbles over the side and fills the corner with colour. I planted another taller fuchsia behind, but sadly it did not survive last winter. Below is a yellow forsythia, which is getting a nice size and will give yellow flowers in the spring.  

Under my raspberry canes, normally at this time of year the base here can look bare and scrappy, again begonia bedding plants work their magic, my hellebore is still flowering, making the area very pretty. I have planted lily of the valley here, in hope it spreads, which will save me having to get bedding plants each year. Most of the rabbits have moved here.

Outside the greenhouse, this big black tub is planted for colour all year, now it's the turn of my begonias, this plant is huge, it the same most years, I have other plants in there, but they have had their summer moment.

Last but not least, is my Chines witch hazel, it loves this pot and spot under the Magnolia tree, and has grown to a good size this year, it does produce flame red tiny flowers. I got my only gnome for the chimera, I added two rabbits for company, just a bit of colour and fun. 

The old herb/rose bed has died back, soon I can plant pansies, I will wait a week, it's not great to plant in a heat wave, as the newest bed, it does need the most work, I have moved some shrubs into the space to help for next year. I am working towards not having so many bedding plants each spring. 

I am getting a harvest, tomatoes are doing well, I freeze all the smaller ones and some of the bigger ones which we can't eat, they will be bases for soups when the weather cools. The raspberries are slowing, we do get a nice handful each day, which we eat as soon as picked. The blackberries have been very good so far, I have a huge bag of berries in our freezer, we have not had to forage for any this year. 

We sit outside most days for coffee, morning and afternoon, having the herbs pots next to the seating area works well, on smelly days we can rub the leaves are release the scents, I do spray with PineSol before sitting, the pine fills the air and keeps the flies away, we do get less of both sitting on the other side of the garden. Having a peaceful garden where we can sit and feel the sun, is so important for us, we love our outside space, it's a place to chat and watch the wildlife, small birds come in to feed and often sit along the fence, we have loads of insects, butterflies. We talk of a small pond, but we don't have anywhere suitable, the only spot would be near the fence, where all the leaves from next door drop, so not perfect, we do have water for the birds near their feeders.