Swinging Times.

Dave arrived home with a swing. It was on sale (apparently), a little brightly coloured plastic swing for Isabella. We decided it should hang from the cherry tree and so Elias was sent up the ladder to fix it to the only branch thick enough.

 Actually there are loads of limbs strong enough for the job  but most of them would involve clambering into the duck pen and hoping not to fall into the muddy, mucky waters of the duck pond. Dave was keen; I said no. Funny that.

Bella loves it! Unfortunately, the other members of the family are too big to be allowed on it.  Much disappointment and sad faces. After all, everyone likes drifting along on a swing don't they? The branch would definitely not handle the weight and so Mr Davey put his thinking cap on. 

He looked something like this only not so cute. (Does everyone wear pyjamas and wellies on a swing?)

We'll take a moment to admire our tulips as they are so blisteringly gorgeous in the May light. Ah ha, I can spot Shirley Temple popping her purplish-red fronds above the soil. She's a peony (paeony?) we have managed to get to bloom for several years now. Perhaps we'll get more than three blooms this year Shirley dear?

So, while Isabella swung on her swing next to the magnolia, the light through the cherry tree dappling her with soft shadow and a drift of blossoms floating by, Dave built a rather large structure across one of the grass paths.

Short diversion to note the pesky ducks on the last of their rambles where they shouldn't be - i.e. outside their pen! I have discovered their means of escape and they are now scuppered. Ha!

Love the way Pecan dipped her head with the wood axe close by. Take note my girl! Clarence looks rigid with shock, poor chap.

The weather was perfect for a day of being in the garden building swings and not getting dressed.

Another gratuitous shot of the garden with the view this time from our bathroom window. Indoors my photos often have the hoover in the background; outdoors it is always the hose. ah well...

And here it is: Mr Davey's homebuilt swing. One day we will put two wooden swings on it or a double swing for us, but for now the 'children' like these. Well, this child does anyway.

Pretty isn't it? 

I do love our garden at this time of year.

Elias, Isabella and Lucy were on the swings the rest of the holiday weekend. Now back at school once more they run out for a quick go before we leave for school and then bags are thrown to the ground for another go after we return.  The best of presents it would seem. 

And I meanwhile potter around taking in the giggles and shrieks as I weed the borders or pick some flowers for the house. Of course I have had plenty of turns on the swing when I can. So soothing to drift back and forth listening to the birdsong in the evening...

taking in the last of the sun before the house calls once more.

Well done Davey x

After School.

After school - that bit of time which is usually not my favourite because... a) I am tired; b) there is much homework to be done by the littles; c) dinner must be thought of/cooked/cleaned up & d) I am tired. Oh yes, I mentioned that already. But show us a bit of warm sun and boring routines go out the window with homework taking place in the garden, sunnies firmly in place and blankets strewn on the grass.

I have been teaching Isabella to knit. She is the final one of our seven children to learn and I am proud to say I have had a hand in teaching them all. Bella picked it up in about two seconds flat showing me once again how quickly she 'sees' things. She is like me in the way she studies things, needing to know the whys & hows so that it makes sense. Once she has that there seems to be little she cannot pick up and she is now knitting a scarf (in the loosest sense of the word) for her little friend Celia.

I also love the generosity of this child. When asking her why she wanted to make something for Celia she replied that she didn't get to see her much and wanted to make sure Celia knew she was her friend. How cute is that?

We have also been studying insects after school. Nothing like getting close up to realise how amazing they are. How can such delicate wings possibly carry that bulky body through the air? 

After school the girls have also been playing volleyball accompanied by shrieks of 'mind the acer' from me! We have nurtured this particular acer for years and it would now cost approximately five hundred pounds to replace. In other words, there will be heads rolling should it get broken. Who am I kidding...when it gets broken.

After school there has been such warm sunshine turning wisps of hair to gleaming cobwebs floating in the breeze.

Violas are so pretty aren't they? I really must put more in this weekend.

After school Tiger Lily has joined us in the sun, nestling her stripy self on the warm flagstones.

Of course, our favourite thing to do after school is to head for the beach which we do as much as possible. The bag is permanently on stand-by in the car packed to the brim with costumes, towels, suncream and food.

We never forget how lucky we are to be able to do this. We can rummage around in rockpools at will, swim in the frankly freezing sea, paddle in the ripples at the water's edge and laze on hot sand on a daily basis should we so choose.

We bumped into friends and family there yesterday, everyone desperate to feel the sun on their backs (and fronts and heads and fingers and toes...you understand I'm sure). I can't quite take in how grown up our little Lucia is in this picture. It happens so suddenly.

Time flies away even if this blooming chap didn't.

I love the way the fields swoop down to the bay.

Flashy boat. Must admit to preferring our own rather scruffy looking Mermaid. Never have been interested in gin palaces, preferring my gin to be consumed drifting along in a far prettier boat than this.

After school yesterday we ate a huge platter of peppers and olives and salmon and feta and all sorts of other deliciousness. A glass of wine eased it down. After school Isabella fell asleep in about three seconds of hitting her bed thanks to being full of sea air. Bliss. 

And so the weekend is beginning and cloud has arrived. Of course. But maybe we shall pop down to the beach again today... after school. x

Stuff & Nonsense Mostly.

It has been very chilly here in Cornwall. Yes, I am envious of those of you who were not only served a main course of sun this week, but had a side order of  temperatures up in the high teens to accompany...bah! Anyhoo, these images are from a trip to the beach during the recent holidays; Isabella and her pal Nell racing in the breeze and whipped up by it as much as the waves were. Bliss.

I am hopeful for similar weather this weekend though it is not looking likely. As I type the clouds are gathering once more. We have plans: the front garden is returning again to a veg plot as it has the best of the sun and Isabella is desperate to start planting out. Yet again, we are going to be removing the grass but this time raised beds are planned - four of them running from hedge to house, each able to hold a goodly amount of scrumptious veg. I am excited.

However, these days I like my gardening to take place in warmer weather than we have at present  I have become a softie south-coaster, my north Cornish roots once so used to hammering gales and an ever-pervasive chill now hide away under snuggly blankets rather than get frozen to pieces. I want the sun please for the raising of beds tomorrow!

 Mind you, I still race to the wild seas when the winds whip up, the white horses galloping over each other to reach the shore first. These two girlies chased the sea back & forth, clothes slightly dampened in the process of course. Has Isabella ever been near water and stayed dry?

Wish I looked cool in sunnies.

Unfortunately I have a head the size of a pin and have to wear children's glasses which tend to make me look (apparently) like something from Larson's 'The Far Side'. Not quite the look I am after really, though I have finally given in to failing eyesight & vanity and am collecting new glasses tomorrow. This is very exciting as it means I will be able to sew in public - i.e. on the beach - without pitying glances being thrown my way by those more suited to such things than pinhead here.

 Not too sure how I moved from the beach to gardening and sunglasses but there you are. Stream of consciousness. It worked for Mrs Woolf. Now there's a thought: perhaps a little fictional writing could be wrought into the weekend. It has been a long time since I did any. What thinks you? No? Oh, ok then...

Nothing like the feel of sand through your fingers is there Nell?

Is it any wonder our house / car / washing machine are permanently full of sand?

I am rambling appallingly and so will leave you with my hopes for the weekend: building four raised beds for veggies; gardening in our very lovely but very wintery looking back garden; restraining the ducks within the confines of their pen once more & generally wearing my new glasses whether I need to or not just because. No fictional writing. Oh, and there will be wine...of course. There is always room for wine in a weekend.

And you? What shape are your plans for the weekend? x

Winter's Fond Farewell...I hope!

Our one Cornish day of very little snow seemed to give Clarence & Pecan something to think about. The very idea of swimming in an icy pond makes me feel ill, but they are ducks and care not a jot.

However, the hens had never seen snow & were thoroughly disgruntled, staying in their tree until hunger drove them down.

And then it was gone with not so much a a snow day off from school. Hey ho, I want spring now and the signs have been there, though this week has opened with the Arctic chill returning. So many layers needed to keep warm when sewing or indeed, for doing almost anything.

Whatever the weather, the beach calls and I love seeing all the moods from soft golden melancholy  

to bright & breezy. 

Of course, I also love coming home to comforting food such as Mr Davey's gorgeous meatloaf with all the trimmings,

followed by a slurp or two of something lovely by the fire.

The sun has made an appearance on and off, and even felt hot once or twice. The shadows remain long throwing deep contrasts onto river scenes.

Dear Castle Beach - what would we do without you? (Have now had a hair cut and can see without drawing the curtains)!

Isabella has already been in the sea. She just cannot keep out it seems. My little mermaid was always such a water baby.

Warmth and chill tied together in a dance of seasons. Spring will win out...eventually.

We can see the promise of it

Can you?

But for now, the fire draws me close in its warm embrace, crackling and hissing and sending wafts of scented smoke. 

Keep warm x