Old habits die hard....

I spent the morning updating the various Apple devices to IOS5. Amazing how long it takes.


But i spent the afternoon clearing the pond of pondweed and over- exuberant growth.

Rain stops play

Two more bin beds (for comfrey for liquid fertiliser ) finished but then the skies opened.


But then we played Bananagrams which is the best new game ever.

Wonderful sunset tonight.

Progress on the asparagus beds.

We (Steve and i) moved the soil to fill in a dip between the fields.


Then rolled it flat with the tractor
Then we made the raised beds using bags from the bulk sand deliveries.











Tomorrow we can make some more and start filling them with soil.

Jack's birthday celebrations.

Up early to open presents


Birthday cake at lunch time


Burgers and fireworks round the bonfire

Something completely different.

Today I collected some wood for turning. It was in exchange for some IT assistance. The oak was not particularly good but the birch is excellent. Spalted and full of burrs. I turned a piece to see what it 'turned' out like and also top prove that I could still do it!!

Levelling the old bonfire site.

Overwintering geraniums.

Gardening.

I have been clearing the veg beds prior to manuring them for winter.



The family bought me three trees to celebrate (!) my sixtieth.


An acer


A liquid-amber


And an amelanchier


They will all give stunning autumn and spring colours and the amelanchier will have berries too. They are just heeled in at the moment until we decide on their final location.

Sunshine after the rain.

Wet gardening today - but there are moments.

Hmmmm. Homegrown melon.

Sadly not as big as I had hoped.




But we have a fine crop of butternut squash that will last us for several years.



Chris

Delphiniums

Strong winds and rain last night took out the delphiniums that have been flowering so nicely outside the conservatory. Still, it gave me a chance to try out the new camera, again. I have been trying to see how many of the attachments from the old camera fit the new one. With some adapters most things fit. This is a macro lens - but it does vignette at 18mm.

and now with pictures.

A selection of landscapes now grace the Natural Calico coloured walls.

p.s. I am using my birthday present from Kate and Arthur - Canon EOS 600d

She's back home.

RosieMay is back with a new hat and her incontinence problem sorted. Looking for short breaks now.


Chris

All done.

All painted ( while watching Korean GP). Paintings on the walls tomorrow.


Chris

Very difficult to concentrate on painting....

......when there is rugby (we wuz robbed!!!) and then the quallies to watch on TV.

Working indoors.

We have decided to paint the stone walls in the lounge as they are dark and mucky. So out with the paint brush and dust-sheets.

Now you see it....

Now you don't!

Higher speed broadband.

The new community broadband scheme connection is now up and running properly - we will just have to see how reliable it is.

http://speedtest.net/result/1528363290.png

http://speedtest.net/result/1528363290.png

Rock and a hard place.

I found this when I cleared out the greenhouse of the tomato vines ( they all ripened while we were away so we have made frozen chopped tomatoes from them). The geraniums can over- winter in there now.



Chris

Another week of holiday.....

We have just returned from a week in Dorset, this time in a B&B near Weymouth and staying with a friend in Salisbury.

Here is a link to some photos.

Dorset II photo album

I promise to do some work next week!