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Category Archives: Cornwall

Six on Saturday – At the Allotment

I was invited for an Allotment Lunch today so I baked some Daisy Bread and off I went to the local allotments where our lovely neighbour and her sister have a double plot – a great opportunity for photos. At the end you will find the link to The Propagator’s blog where, in the comments, you will find lots of other Six on Saturday blogs from all over the world which are always fun to visit.

1. Looking out of the shed across the other plots.

2. Stir fry of lots of delicious fresh produce

3. Fresh wild garlic about to be chopped up and added to the mix

4. Stewed rhubarb with strawberries for dessert

5. Rainbow Chard – beautiful bright colours

6. Marigolds and Forget-me-nots – a beautiful colour combination.

7. The being-renovated shed

The Propagator

6 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 20, 2019 in Beauty, community, Cornwall, Food, friendship, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019

Tags: Coach Lane Allotments

Being Granny, A Poem and Wise Words

14 Apr

Our LiveWires have gone home and it is very quiet today. They had a good time as did we and I was very touched when T, LiveWire no 3 said, “I really want to be a Granny when I’m old enough. It’s fun being a Granny!” Yes, it is!

Climbing on Carn Brea

Swinging at Heartlands

This poem came my way today and touched a chord. I have a favourite walk that I take my mind on when I can’t sleep, around St Anthony Head. Happily, I need this less than when I was working and now , of course, we are close enough to do the walk for real. Then I was in South Yorkshire.

Association by Franz Wright

Dawns when I can’t sleep I walk,
in thought, all the way
around Walden.

My father loved Thoreau, I wish
he could have walked there
with me once,

my hungover Virgil. Lying in bed
with a big ax
lodged in my head, I still hear him

as if from the next room
bumping into things and cursing.
Give us this day, he mutters,

our daily stone. Nice.
Can’t blame him, though. This morning
can’t sleep for missing him.

It’s two years since our lovely neighbour, Bill Mitchell, died and he is missed and remembered with great love by so many. This description of grief from a child whose Grandfather had died, I found very touching.

Wisdom of a child

For newer readers, here is the post I wrote about Bill two years ago.

https://mybeautfulthings.com/2017/05/03/bill-mitchell-our-friend-next-door-2121951-1442017/

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 14, 2019 in Carn Brea, Grandchildren, Photography, Uncategorized

Tags: Bill Mitchell, Bill Mitchell artistic director, Franz Wright, grief

Six on Saturday – A Windy April Afternoon

13 Apr

It’s wild out there today – and cold! I had planned to pot up a couple of Lavender plants for the top of the steps into the garden but that will have to wait! We’ve had help this week with some of the heavier, non-plant, tasks. The arbour has been renovated with a new roof and a new back. Now I have to paint it. The veggie boxes have begun to rot. They were made 10 years ago using the beams from the huge workshop that took up half of our garden. Dan has repaired those too so now we can get planting. We have no greenhouse and buy the little plants from our local nursery in Chacewater and had hoped to buy and plant this weekend but it seems another frost is promised so that job will have to wait too……

1. The Arbour

Repaired back and roof. Wheels added so that we can always turn it to the sun.

2. Veggie box, running repairs done on two of the four.

Repaired

3 New Growth. It’s lovely to see the blossom on the Amelanchier that we planted last year. It’s going to be very pretty.

Amelanchier Lamarckii

4. Fiddlehead Fern I love the early growth of ferns. This one is in my shady garden and planted in one of our many chimney pots. I’m told that they are edible but haven’t ever tried them mostly because I want the whole fern fronds in my garden!

Fiddlehead

5. Granny’s Bonnets, Aquilegea, Columbine. I love these pretty purple flowers, remembering them from my childhood. They seem to me to be flowering rather earlier than in previous years but I haven’t been back to check that out as fact! These flowers are edible too and are very pretty in a salad or decorating a cake. The leaves should NOT be eaten. The other varieties that we have, the yellow, the red and whites are not flowering yet. They self-seed with abandon.

Granny’s Bonnets, Aquilegea, Columbine with Snowflakes behind

6. More bulb beauties. The purple Tulips have taken over from the yellow Daffodils and join the white Narcissi in the pots up the steps. The white Tulips are a bit behind the white ones.

Tulips

If you have enjoyed my Six on Saturday, pop over to The Propagator’s blog. He started this brilliant idea and by reading the comments there you can visit gardeners and their gardeners all over the world.

9 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 13, 2019 in Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019

Tags: #SixOnSaturday, Aquilegea, Columbine, gardening in Cornwall, Granny's Bonnets

Garden, Glass and the Beach

11 Apr

After coming to singing with me this morning, I let LiveWire No 3 loose with my camera in the garden and she took some beauties. This is my favourite.

Muker, the copper crow

Both youngsters finished off their glass shooting stars this afternoon.

Shooting stars

And, of course, we went to the beach later in the afternoon for another session of dam building and stream diverting.

Having fun

2 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 11, 2019 in art, Cornwall, environment, glass, Grandchildren, Photography, sculpture

Tags: Porthtowan Beach

Glass Class, Playing and The Beach

10 Apr

Another lovely LiveWire day starting with them wanting to learn how to make something in glass. I cut the pieces for shooting stars for them both, they foiled the pieces and we started the soldering . We will finish that tomorrow afternoon or Friday morning.They both worked so hard!

Foiling

Beginning to solder

We went off to Heartlands to have lunch and then to play on the brilliant equipment like many other families.

Balancing

Landing after balancing across the blocks

Later we took a trip to our nearest and favourite beach, Porthtowan, to play at damming up the stream, making pools and diverting the stream. I loved doing this as a kid, again with our four and now with the LiveWires. It isn’t something that you can grow out of – or would ever want to!

Collecting water

Diverting the stream

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 10, 2019 in Cornwall, environment, family, Grandchildren, Photography, Postaday 2019

Tags: Heartlands, Heartlands Cornwall, Porthtowan

Carn Brea, Secret Garden and Blossom

09 Apr

We have two LiveWires with us! This morning we went up to Carn Brea from where both the North and South coast seas can be seen. The youngsters love climbing on the (treacherous!) rocks and I have to bite my tongue. Their rock climbing and survival skills are impressive!

On top of Carn Brea

Rocks and Redruth

In the afternoon we took the children to the unique and wonderful Minack Theatre just above Porthcurno to see The Secret Garden which was an absolute delight.

As the play ended

Porthcurno Beach

Blossom abounds everywhere at the moment.

Gorse

Blackthorn, identified by HeyJude for me.

11 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on April 9, 2019 in Cornwall, environment, family, Grandchildren, Photography, Postaday 2019, Redruth, theatre

Tags: Porthcurno Beach, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Under the Stars theatre company

Another Lunch, Bouquet and Bias

07 Apr

I met the lovely Mr S for lunch again today. He is working on the boat on Freeman’s Wharf, getting her ready for launch later this month. We met at The Muddy Beach Cafe in Penryn and had a delightful lunch of an excellent Tomato and Roast Pepper Soup with Cheesy Toast and Onion Marmalade!

My lunch

There was a wedding in the cafe yesterday and the place was looking lovely, full of jugs of Spring blooms and bright yellow paper baubles hanging from the ceiling.