The lanes are lined with pink, Campions and masses of Foxgloves. The sea of the North coast of Cornwall can be seen in the distance.
The elderflowers are blooming. Perhaps this year I’ll get to collect some to make Elderflower cordial.
We are spotting wooden gates as we are going to get some for the drive when the painting is all done.
The bird feeders are always busy these days
The first Cosmos flower has opened. I love these delicate flowers which grow along the roadside in South Africa.
We’ve been out for dinner again! Now, all dressed up, we have just finished the delicious meal which we collected from The Royal Oak in Perranwell.
We were given this Geranium by friends a year or two ago and it survives the winter giving bright colour now.
The young women doing our decorating have been up in the sky today!
I’ve had another baking day, the lovely Mr S’s favourite Blueberry Crunchy Cake and a most excellent Nut Roast, both of which we have enjoyed today and both of which are now in the freezer in portions for our delight at later dates.
A Thrush serenaded us early this morning.
A lovely neighbour has taken some parcels to the post office for me today – the masks for the Barcelona bunch and the old wings from my Fairies that need repairing. I have sent them to the artist, Samantha Bryan who made them and who has advised me on their removal. I have also sent her the feathers that I was given and she is going to make them into wings. Such excitement that my fairies are going to be able to fly again! I picked a bunch of flowers from the garden to say thank you to N.
Our decorators are brilliant, such careful preparation of the walls and windows and they care about our garden. Here they have thoughtfully covered the edible garden so that the painty bits coming off the walls don’t mess up our food.
The lovely Mr S called me from my bed early this morning as, getting up to make tea, he had spotted a deer in the the mist of the back field.
I’ve made two more masks for the family in Spain today, one for our 3 year old Granddaughter and one for her big sister.
Mr S watched a baby Chaffinch at the feeders this afternoon. It was very unafraid and chirpy.
We are being decorated! Outside painting is okay now in these socially distancing times so here is a before picture.
When our lovely decorators, Colourgirlz, come to work for us, I always bake them a pile of cookies. This time I have made two batches of Choc Chip Cookies, one with with dark brown molasses sugar and dark chocolate chips – and raisins – and the second batch – with light soft brown sugar and white chocolate chips and raisins.
A glass of wine in the evening sunshine under the Crinodendron was just what we needed! The Sweet Pea wigwam is coming along well as is the Bay tree on the left.
There was a scratch of a moon in the sky last night as the sun went down. Shame about all the phone lines but I love the gradation of the colours, the leaf silhouettes and the white moon.
There are Foxgloves all along our walk now in various stages of bloom. I love the detail inside each flower.
Teachers have been working throughout the crisis, sometimes in school teaching vulnerable children and those of key workers and sometimes teaching pupils online. Here is a delightful tribute to the NHS along the Cornish hedge around the playground of our local infant school.
We’ve potted up a beautiful new plant, bought on impulse from Burncoose Nursery last week. It’s gorgeous.
Our Crinodendron is stunning this year especially against the cerulean sky.
A friend asked for a photo of one of our pieces of art work, one a day for seven days in fact. Today I chose this 2′ square painting by my kid sister who lives in Hawaii. It is bright and beautiful, full of positivity and we have it on the landing so it is the first painting I see when I emerge from the bedroom in the mornings.
The Thyme plants in our herb wall have become very woody and so I felt we needed to replace them. The lovely Mr S found me three plants recently so today was the day to get them planted.
So, here they are in their new home – a creeping one called Creeping Red, some French Thyme and a variegated one called Silver Posie.
We have just been reading to our littlest LiveWires (3 years old) who live in Barcelona and it was wonderful! They were both engaged and joining in and we had to read three books as they kept saying, “More please!” Thank goodness for Skype!
The bees are busy, we are glad to see. This one was moving around all the Lavender pots.
Our eldest was due to come from Exeter for a couple of hours this afternoon to fix my Beetle. In exchange I made her a couple of fabric masks. I had not anticipated how hard it would be to see her but not be allowed to hug.
My spirits were lifted by a wonderful zoom session this evening, Greenham Women singing songs of the time, all led by my lovely choir leader, Claire. In between singing the songs, people shared their stories of being at the various gates, all given colours and each with a very distinct personality. A couple of the participants had been there with their Mums as very young children. One Mum and daughter were there together from their different parts of the UK; participants came from allover the country and were really inspiring. It was a brilliant session.
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