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Monthly Archives: April 2024

Shadows, Tomatoes and New Plants

The evening sun last night shone through the glass agapanthus and its glass jar making coloured shadows on the sunlit white wall.

Lots of potting on to be done today at Community Roots and a gift of some tomato plants for each volunteer who wanted some. Ours are now in the poly-tunnel at the allotment.

Also there are some baby Asparagus Kale plants which sound very interesting, an old variety, listed in Vilmorin’s ‘The Vegetable Garden’ in 1885. Reputed to be one of the tastiest of kales and is treated like broccoli. We’ll look forward to the next Spring!

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 16, 2024 in allotment, community, Cornwall, environment, growing, nature, Postaday 2024

Tags: community roots

Weeding and An Old Photo

15 Apr

I’ve weeded half the fruit patch where we have Tayberries and Blackcurrants – more work to do!

It was LiveWire 4’s birthday last week and I came across this rather delightful photo of her having a story read to her by one of our friends. She’s 11 already!

LiveWire 4 in her Granny knitted outfit

Sorry! Pressed publish before adding photos!

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 15, 2024 in Uncategorized

Posy, Washing and A Dinner

14 Apr

I took a little posy next door for Sue today, Rosemary for remembrance and primroses as they were a favourite of our lovely neighbour Bill Mitchell, who died on this day seven years ago. You can read more in a post I wrote about this very special man here.

It’s been a beautiful, bright and breezy day today and for the first time in months we’ve been able to dry the washing outside. It smells so fresh and lovely.

Table napkins bought in Egypt many years ago and full of memories of a brilliant family holiday on a Nile Cruise.

We’ve been next door this evening with Sue and family to have a dinner in honour of Bill, steak and kidney pie to start and then a Lemon self saucing pudding. Regular readers may remember that in his last couple of months Bill really fancied puddings and I used to make them for him – lemon pud and syrup sponge being favourites. We ate the pud all up before I thought to take a photo. I got one of the delicious pie though!

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 14, 2024 in environment, Food, friendship, garden, nature, Postaday 2024

Squirrels, John Muir and A Cherub

13 Apr

There were two squirrels in the garden today, seeming to be a youngster and a parent. My picture is a bit blurry as they were scampering about and wouldn’t stay still for a photo!

I came across the following words from John Muir today and loved them, especially the last ones, ‘each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.’
“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
John Muir, also known as “John of the Mountains” and “Father of the National Parks”, was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, and early advocate for the preservation of wilderness in the United States. (From Wikipedia)

When we were in the churchyard in Helston the other day, I noticed, and was rather taken with, this chubby little cherub sitting and snoozing or contemplating for all time.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 13, 2024 in Cornwall, environment, garden, Helston, nature, Postaday 2024, quotations, sculpture

Tulips, Camellia and Clematis

12 Apr

We’ve had a beautiful day today and have been at the allotment, weeding, tidying up and preparing for the next plantings. The tulips I planted in my pollinator border are looking gorgeous, better than the ones at home but these were freshly planted last autumn.

The Camellia we bought a couple of weeks ago but which we haven’t planted out yet is growing on apace and has given us one flower which we are delighted about.

One of our Clematis, Haldine, is beginning to flower and the Nelly Moser isn’t far behind.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 12, 2024 in allotment, Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Postaday 2024

Guest Blogger

11 Apr

Hi everyone! I’m back and glad! This was our last full day in Cornwall but it has been, of course ,wonderful so far. Today, I went to Choir with Granny and was probably one of the best ones I’ve been to. Everybody is always so nice and welcoming and loves to help me during songs I don’t know. My favourite song was a Liberian song where we sang Cockadoodledoo in Liberian so if I ever want to go to Liberia, I can say Cockadoodledoo!
(I’ve tried to add an MP4 here but it’s not working – yet)

The day was foggy and murky yet seeing the ship wrecks on the mud was like a scarecrow in a field of daisies.

Later on, we went to Porthtowan for what was meant to be a fleeting encounter with the waves and pebbles but we got caught up and forgot time was running and stayed there for almost an hour stepping over stones and finding lettered pebbles.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 11, 2024 in Cornwall, family, music, Penryn, Porthtowan, Postaday 2024, Sea, singing

Door, Museum and Pigeon

10 Apr

A very interesting meeting today in an old chapel – and here is the door.

We took the LiveWires to see the automata exhibition in the Royal Cornwall Museum this afternoon, greatly enjoyed by all in a very busy building. You can see some of the exhibits here in an earlier post.

Even the pigeons in our garden were feeling the cold and the rain today.

We’ve all been out to see Andy Parsons this evening, Bafflingly Optimistic, and have laughed ourselves silly – lots of endorphins here tonight!

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 10, 2024 in Postaday 2024, Uncategorized

Tags: Andy Parsons, Bafflingly Optimistic

Insect, Pigeon and LiveWires

09 Apr

A very delicate Lacewing was on our windscreen and stayed there long enough for me to get a photo. And, as you can see, we have had blue skies today!

We were joined by an unusually coloured and rather pretty pigeon while we were waiting at the train station for two LiveWires and their Mum to arrive.

As always, our first stop was the beach, Porthtowan being a family favourite. The seas were still wild though the storm had passed, the winds were still strong and the Lifeguards had the red flag up, much to LiveWire no 2’s disappointment as he wanted to swim! It is such a delight to have some family here for a few days.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 9, 2024 in Cornwall, environment, family, Grandchildren, Happiness, nature, Porthtowan, Postaday 2024

Tags: Lacewing

A Gift

08 Apr

The wild winds from the current storm brought me a gift – a single petal from a neighbour’s Camellia, caught in the stones of our drive.

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Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 8, 2024 in nature, Postaday 2024, Uncategorized

White, Orange and Pudding

07 Apr

Our tulips are somewhat disappointing this year, just odd ones coming through, though each of these is very beautiful. I shall have to put in a lot of new ones in the Autumn.

I made a Treacle Spice and Blueberry Cake for next Roots on Tuesday and froze it away. The off-cuts have made a delicious pudding this evening, warmed up with ice-cream, salted caramel sauce and slivered almonds.