Happy Nude Ears!

Nice to have Archie and Meriel here for New years this year. Tey made a lovely Saag Paneer for dinner yesterday and we watched Johnny Depp in the excellent film but very bad dirctor who made Plan Nine From Outer Space. Went into the garden to join Hazel later in the summer house for a chat and marvel at all the junk she has around the place and candles in every nook and cranny! It was like Diwali all over again! Watched a bit of Jools on the box and at 11.55 outside again to light sparklers and wish each other a Happy New year as all hell broke loose and the battle of the Somme commenced. Bang! Whoosh Crack! Bam! etc.

Hot Hot Hot!

Hot again today - even the neighbours cat is forced to drink from our watering can! Hazel would usually chase him/her off before it pooped on her petunias but today she felt sorry for puss who was obviously desperate for some liquid refreshment. Afterwards she rattled the door handle which sent the pesky feline off down the garden path and went out to take the very dry washing from the line.

Brrrrr! It's Snowing! Rainbows and Bird Feeders.

It's a bit nippy! The birdies need feeding. Hazel put out more seeds. The sun is shining on our glass danglers and made lots of rainbows!

More Snow

More snow in the night making the garden look very sparkly and white. It's melting now the sun is out. We did plan to go for a walk but staying in to make bread and cakes.

Summer House

Nice sunny afternoon. Walked down to the fishing ponds and the community garden to see the baby coots or moorhens ( the one's with big feet? ) and a chat to old geezer who seems to know what's going on around here. He said he's been attacked by dogs by the canal so came this way for a change for a quite walk along the river and around the ponds. He said the fishermen don't use it anymore because of the invasive weed that grows. Last year or the years before they dragged it all out with a digger of some kind and it rotted on the bank for ages ( all gone now ) but still a problem he reckoned. Maybe a dye in the water might stop the sunlight from getting to the bottom and stop it growing? Anyway, we went home and Archie found an old art deco glass lampshade in the garden we though was a habitat for a mouse. He cleaned it up and hopes to take it home at some point. Sat in the summer house looking at all the other junk Hazel has aquired at boot sales over the years. A nice sunny afternoon.

Gardening at Granma's

Archie was home from the weekend and he got cajoled into doing some gardening whilst he was here. Granma andf Audrey needed a trellis putting up to save their floppy climbing plant which had tied itself in knots and was lying helpless on the ground for ages now. The flimsy plastic trellis was useless really - not even support for two weedy sweet peas! So Archie put some wooden battens up and cursing the poor tools he had to contend with he did the best he could. It took four of us to man handle the triffid like plant up against the wall - tendrils kept trying to strangle us - or so it seemed. Would have made an amusing photo but our hands were occupied! Later we had some tea and biscuits and sat in the garden enjoying what brief sunshine there was.

Screwy Squirrel

Captured with camera running along a branch - one of three squirrels in our garden yesterday. The others too quick to snap! I think they were taunting a cat in the apple tree. Making weird chittering noises. The cat looked baffled!

Happy New Year!

Hazel in the light sparkly garden waiting for midnight.

Nature Calls

Just found this old video in the dusty recesses of the Archie Archive - from about 6 or 7 years ago when he was knee high to a grass hopper.
Back from a walk to town and back as it was so nice out - bright sunshine after a nippy start. Got a couple of DVD's to watch including Avatar from the library, to see what all the fuss is about. I really hate the idea of every film being a 3D blockbuster. Also - 3D telly - what's that all about? Hope it goes the same way as Cinemascope and Smellivision!