Tag Archives: bluebell woods

Down on the Farm, Pottering, Out and About – and a Project

28 Apr

One of the many delights of living on a farm; you never know what you will see next…001

In amongst the works in progress on the hard.

Is that really a big black bull…?004

Why, yes it is…005

A big black bull called Callum, as it happens, that the farm owner has been angling to get her hands on for ages.

He is being trained and taught some manners…006008

A rare breed indeed…011

And I don’t mean John.

I just love the young of the Highland Cattle – like little teddy bears…006014010

So damn cute.

We have lambs too…

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Take a closer look…016019

Been doing a little gardening today, working on the pots of colour in the cratch…001

And on the bow…002

I ran out of compost so the ones for the deck will have to wait for another day.

Am delighted the radishes are shooting…003

We had to cover with the mesh as something was nibbling at them.

Great to think I shall soon be able to indulge my latest food fetish without swelling Mr. Tesco’s purse… Has to be a good thing.

My Aloe gave birth too…005

Aaahhh. Even if it does look like the logo of a well known sports brand.

I did get some shots of Ugley Woods the other day…005004006

Which, if I’m honest, I forgot I had. Though, as I said, the little bells not fully ringing just yet.

Though how such a pretty place can be called Ugley still beats me – has to be the best bluebell wood I’ve ever seen.

My tropical flower was feeling the cold…007

And headed briskly for the warmth of the car. It was chilly.

Sadly, the managing of the woods does not seem as on the ball this year – nettles and brambles getting in the picture.

This trotted by at one point on our country drive…026

And we passed this…027

Which amused us. Agricultural inventiveness at its best.

The pretty pink avenue of sweet chestnuts still not quite there – though only days away – so here’s a boring old white one to be going on with…022

 

023Majestic and magnificent. And out everywhere somewhere near you – unlike the pink jobs that keep us dangling.

Soon.

And as for the rape fields…036_stitch038_stitch2

They even make the pylons look good…029

Loving those moody skies.

And Hertfordshire country lanes, complete with the John person posing – for scale and perspective of course…060

Are superb. Proper.

How gorgeous is this mix…

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What a wonderful time of year – even if I’m not cruising. Yet.

There’s an exciting boat related project going on right now though, which will be coming to this blog very soon.

I am busy amassing photos by way of before, during – and  eventually after. But some of the early ones are on John’s camera and, in the interests of doing things in the correct order, I must wait till they are transferred to my computer – soon I hope.

Can’t wait to share…

 

 

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Spring Fever

20 Apr

There’s no keeping a good boatbird down.

And this one has acquired another job to replace the one that was so mysteriously lost – see the previous post.

Easy go, easy come.

The best thing about it is, I can work for 12.5 hours a week without it compromising my beloved lifestyle on the water or time spent creatively.

I have discovered that I can do mornings after all and will have to modify this little plaque…001

I’m thinking of removing the N and the T.

I get up at 6am, at work by 7-7.30 and back on Hobo around 10.  So I have the whole day ahead.

From Thursday till Monday (inclusive) I do my stint of 2.5 hours each day, also doing the other job on Monday and Thursday – still home by 4 on these double days –  leaving me several hours of daylight to play write,  at this time of year, anyway. And Tuesday/Wednesday have become the new weekend.

Just call me a scrubber Mrs Mop. I’m cleaning at a restaurant in Sawbo, which is within walking/cycling distance and it’s suiting me fine. I’ve done the career thing, more than glad I’ve grown out of it and  happy to do a bit of cleaning to earn a crust. No office politics/responsibilities/teamwork involved. Just a little job.

The writing is of course my main aim and I will do whatever it takes to allow me to do this. Intersperse this with a smattering of boat maintenance, relaxation, having that crack at some creative painting (boat decoration), learning to play the guitar – the list is endless – and I’ll be more than happy.

There is a slight snag with cycling to work though. My poor little shopper…My Rusty Steed

Has seized over the winter so requires a little attention. It did start off under cover but somehow got chucked back in the hedge moved out again, unbeknown to me, so suffered the full force of the extreme wetness that was our winter.

The WD40 is being applied every day to the chain, now gradually freeing up, and brake cables have been bought ready for John to replace when next here. Should be OK, once the tyres are pumped up, and fit for use after that.

By then I will hopefully have shaken off this horrid cold that is currently plaguing me – first one for almost five years – so with full lung capacity once more and minus the hacking cough, I should be able to push the pedals round. I’ve been struggling to walk even (without wheezing and generally behaving like a very unfit 90 year old that has chain- smoked Marlboro all her life) but, with the aid of a bottle of expectorant that John made me buy, I am on the mend and rapidly improving.

Man flu has nothing on this spring fever, I can tell you.

John made the trip down on Monday afternoon and I picked him up from the airfield on the way home from job no. 2. Perfect.

He’s planted some radish and lettuce in the little patch that he hacked back and dug over on his last visit…006

See here soon (hopefully) for the new shoots bursting forth.

And we’re busy planning the next step.

We think we can cut a new path through here…005

So as to avoid the lake that forms in the dip when it rains…002 (20)

And then de-rubbish/landscape/plant the rest of this area. It could look so good.

Meanwhile, I shall obtain some colour for the pots and tubs…011 007 002

To pretty Hobo up a bit, by way of introducing a bit of spring loveliness to my immediate surroundings.

Speaking of which…

We passed this glorious little front garden the other day, just had to stop and snap…001

That put us right in the mood to re-visit beautiful Ugley bluebell woods once more but we were a little premature it seems, the little blue bells not being fully opened, so will have to go back.

You can have a look here  to see some super pics I took a couple of years back.

It’s such a great time of year, with all manner of plants and trees coming into their own.  Along one of the nearby lanes is an avenue of Sweet Chestnut trees and, any day now, they too will be showing off. Will do my best to be there at the right time and secure some snaps – they don’t last long but are glorious.

Back on the Fens, John has been shooting the daffodil fields (makes a change from rabbits) for me to stitch…100_3110_stitch

How’s that?

Happy Easter.

 

 

 

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Pretty Ugley

11 May

Ugley is an Essex village that happens to have beautiful bluebell woods, as well as a funny name, which we discovered by accident the other year and chose to re-visit on the way to the treehouse this Tuesday.

It’s a small but most worthwhile diversion if you get the timing right…

Which for once I think we did…Aren’t they gorgeous? 

All around you and everywhere you look, a beautiful blue haze seemingly hovers just above the ground. Totally stunning. And the perfume is astonishing, making a tramp through the woods a real delight.

No wonder they call it beautiful Ugley.

I am warming to Essex.

Silly thought: Ugley probably has a Womens’ Intitute too, which I certainly won’t be queueing to join. Think about it…..

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