Many Thanks

Hello
Many thanks for being my friends. I just thought I would write this as blogging is still new to me. It is so good to have friends like you all around the world and see what you are all doing and how you live your wonderful lives. We all have ups and downs and really we are all trying to achieve the same contentment and harmony in our own way. It is so nice to receive your lovely comments and I look forward to getting to know you all. I will try and answer all comments but it will not always be straight-away. Well do pop by if you were here with me I would make you a coffee, or afternoon tea and cake. Good times and I will pop in and see you at your blog soon. Many happy times.
Love Sarah xx 

Coffee for you

Life in the Orchard

Life here is a joy in the orchard everyday there are such pleasures with different colours of the rainbow mainly clear blue skies, wonderful fresh luxurious green grass with brilliant white daisy popping up their heads with bright yellow eyes to say hello. The pale delicate blossom with tissue paper thin petals that smells so sweet. Daffodils blowing their trumpets along the path, previously walked by badgers and deer. The first butterflies are emerging sunning themselves on the top branches. It is such a joy to visit the ladies in the orchard and being greeted with happy clucking and rewarded with eggs with sunshine centres. I sometimes still rush down to see them in the morning in my dressing gown and welly boots never open-toed shoes as they think my toes look rather tasty. Today they are in for a treat black-berries that I have found at the bottom of my freezer. I boil them up, strain them and then re-boil with sugar to taste. Let them cool down then swirl it through vanilla ice-cream then return to the freezer for awhile. Delicious and the girls have the pulp.

Mittens exploring

In The Garden

In the garden we have made a new cottage border planting 2 Peony trees and lots of perennials. Sometimes when we have made new borders it is hard to get it right size height colour. I am awful at making decisions and now feel if we like, we try and give it a go, if the colour grows that way in nature then it’s got to be right. We have now decided to put a nice cottage looking trellis up and grow roses with strong scent and lovely flowers again what colour do I choose at the moment I quite fancy white or pale peachy orange. Have you got any ideas for me?

New Cottage Bed Still In The Making

The Orchard

The orchard is just about to burst from bud to leaf especially the crab-apple and pear. The newly planted hedge is in leaf too – the daffodils are scattered in the meadows and hay field with Celandines and Primroses growing along-side the brook. Tadpoles are now wriggling and swimming in the dew pond. The two usual Magpies are getting ready to nest in the ancient Oak above the hen-house. Rabbits are playing hide and seek in the fields and the Blue-Tits are twittering in the old dead apple trees, busily taking little soft bedding including bits of Daisy’s moulting fur that had blow around the garden and little shreds of sheep’s wool.

Wild Daffodils (Lent Lilies)

Catkins (Lamb's Tails)

More Daffodils In The Hay Meadow

Spring Flowers

Love it, love it, spring flowers have arrived in my garden. These are the first to make their debut they are such a joy to see and add colour in the garden and meadow. They are the belles of the ball dancing and nodding there cheery petals in the wind.

Violas

Snowdrops

Crocus

Tete a Tete miniature Daffodils

Wild Daffodils in the Meadow

Rhubarb

Well hello again  just  seen my rhubarb plants I get quiet excited by it when I see the red shoots suddenly appear then burst into leaf.  I have 10 plants in total, 4 that I was given, 2 that move here with us and 4 I grew from seed that was passed on to me. They are all doing well but last year they all had big seed heads on them which I had never seen before. Has yours had this?  The stems did not do to well either, all I made was 2 crumbles with them, so I am hoping for a lots more this year. In the hot spells I put sheep wool fleece around them to keep the moisture in it does seem to do the job. Have you got any good recipes for using rhubarb?

Crumble here we come

Hello Friends

Oh what a beautiful morning the sun is shining through the window and although it looks very cold outside after the weekends heavy rain it is beginning to look like spring. The green wood-pecker has arrived and keeps hammering in the ground for bugs and insects. The lady pheasants are sunny themselves down by the hedge with Mr. pheasant watching over them to make sure they don’t find the new toy boy parading in his glorious new adult feathers giving them the eye across the other side of the hedge. Rabbits are just watching and waiting for me to get some juicy lettuce in the kitchen garden. The daffodils are just starting to appear and buds on the trees are starting to emerge with a leaf within. My little apricot tree that we planted in the garden last year is just waiting for a few warm days to blossom, but I tell it to hold off just for a few more weeks if not it will have to have a warm fleece on at night to keep it cosy and protect those little baby fruits growing. Sadly one of my girls from the orchard died at the weekend she was a very old bird but had a very good life. Her pal is missing her though and I fear she will give up soon as they were the same age and were inseparable like bookends.She has had a few cuddles today and given first peck of the corn at tea-time and a few grapes which she loves.

Well look forward to speaking to you all soon. Would love to hear from you. Have fun.

A Few Of My Girls

More Girlies

Kitchen Garden and Vegetables

I have my seed potatoes on the window sill and you can see their eyes emerging everyday a little bit more.

The manure heap has been spread on a lot of the plots.

The garlic from the local supermarket was planted at the weekend in the kitchen garden. I started it of in the greenhouse first, it is an experiment. I went to use it for a bolognaise sauce to find it had already sprouted so I thought I would give it a go to see if it would grow. The kale is still growing strong and although the family are not big fans. I always add small amounts into casseroles and pies. It is lovely if shredded up small in an omelette. Any more recipes would be much appreciated and greatly received. The chickens adore it and it is quite funny to watch them if you hold it in the air they jump for it. I do believe it has all the best nutrients and they say birds and animals know what is good for them.

The purple sprouting broccoli is just about ready and is so tasty we even eat it raw. It has a nutty flavour and looks so pretty.

The good old green stuff Kale

Purple Sprouting Broccoli

Apricot Call Ducks

.

Yesterday I put in the incubator 21 apricot call duck eggs. Apricot call ducks are the most gorgeous little ducks they have a lovely nature and are so friendly. They are as good as a burglar alarm and let me know as soon as anyone or thing is approaching and a lot more friendlier than mr goose which last year I had to arm myself with a rake to let him out in the morning and to put him to bed at night or I would have to make a quick dash for it. So I will keep you all posted. I would love to hear from any of you that have any eggs in the incubator at present.?

My friendly little ducks

Flowers

I have taken lots of cutting of Erysimum (perennial wallflower- Boules Mauve) that have been very successful. Have you tried growing this lovely plant? It is the most cavalier plant that flowers supposedly from April to September but mine have flowered all year long even through the really cold spells. It worth giving it a go it is such a  cheery plant and looks good all year round but now with the season of purple and yellow it looks amazing with daffodils.

Erysimum

My sweet peas are growing fast a bit too fast as they are just starting to tangle. Yesterday I put some in a big tub with wigwam sticks in the greenhouse so hopefully I will have a lot of early summer colour ahead of previous years.

Newly transplanted Sweet-peas

In a bit of a tangle

My Nasturtiums have started to emerge which I intend to plant up the side of the girls hen- house to make it pretty. Which reminds me I must get hubby to do some interior design work inside their house no not Laura Ashley wallpaper and paint but a fancy new perch for them to have their mothers meetings on. Our hay always make them start to go broody so hay hay I going to start putting it back in now instead of straw (would you like to sit on straw when you could have the most sweetest smelling soft meadow hay.)