HAPPY NEW WEEK!
I hope everyone has the best week possible.
The beautiful red male Northern Cardinal is indicating that he and his mate intend to nest above the windows of my porch again this year. I'm very happy, because I love watching them and listening to the babies. I hope the raccoons will leave the eggs alone. We continue to have an over population of raccoons here.
Note: Lindy left a post on the end of the last thread.
Love and hugs to you all!
Very quiet here. Some neighbours have disappeared for a brief holiday. BTW when did “long weekend” replace “Easter weekend”? Max temp has dropped below 30 C, nights in mid-teens.
Quiet here, too, in spite of most people having a day off. Except for my OH who is painting, as usual. I popped in to remove some sticky marks from a wardrobe door, put there by putting posters up. I used some "remover" and it worked well. Quite satisfying except it didn't do my fingernails much good! Couldn't resist scraping at the marks with my thumbnail.
My OH also helped a neighbour to start his car and they are very grateful. Everyone around here knows that if they have a problem, my OH will help sort it out.
These are growing in the lawn, near the edge, having set themselves there. My OH has been mowing around them!
Lindy - your OH is working very hard. It is good that he can help the neighbours. I love your primrose. They do not seem to like my garden (heavy clay) a friend gave me one from her garden earlier this spring and I have left it in the pot. Therefore I have been able to enjoy it. I suspect I have got hay fever! I am coughing and spluttering. It’s that time of year. I had better break out the anti histamines!!! A friend and I did a recce of a local country park yesterday with a view to using it on one of our Flora and Fauna walks. She is the botanist so I bowed to her superior knowledge when she declared that there was not enough variety for a Flora and Fauna walk!!! I wonder if she was influenced by the fact that it was cold and damp!!! We were there for about 90 minutes. We did see a wonderful carpet of cowslips.
Rusty - I also did a sort of Flora and Fauna walk this morning, not that we saw any Fauna! But the trees were wonderful and so was the birdsong. In the grounds of Gravetye Manor, which is quite near where I live. I had no idea it was a place where anyone can walk - well, I've only lived in the area for 23 years!! A wonderful area on The Weald, with lots of interesting - old hammer ponds, beautiful planting of trees, the oldest meadow in England. Definitely a place to go back to again and again. Quite undulating, but I was ready for that. We had a very knowledgeable guide. I will definitely go again. It abuts parts of Ashdown Forest - they have started charging huge amounts for parking and wonder why very few people are visiting! Gravetye is free ... it's a hidden gem, and I am being very careful who I tell about it ... I trust you all to tell only the people who would appreciate it!!
PatO; Gravetye Manor is safe as far as I'm concerned and I can't see Diane or bjane showing up at their front door soon either. Apparently it's a four-star hotel and charges 65 pound per person for afternoon tea (wonder if you can sneak a sandwich and flask of tea into the gardens?). I Googled it and there's a September 24 Vogue article with some marvellous photos.
Rusty: Allergies are in full flow here too.
Annette - I was very pleased to learn that the hotel does not own the grounds! They lease the house and some gardens from a charitable trust which owns the whole area. I certainly couldn't afford to visit the hotel! The friend I did the walk with has been several times - her son did his chef training there and she was always happy to be a guinea-pig! Apparently they allow the hoi polloi in on a Thursday morning - for £10 you are allowed to walk around the formal gardens for a couple of hours. I guess if you can afford it you can also have coffee ... but I can't! Not even sure I want to spend that sort of money to look at a garden, although I hear it's very famous and beautiful. But we have an embarrassment of riches in this area as far as beautiful gardens are concerned, so I might pass on that. Apart from the hotel, all the ground are free, as is parking - that's more in my line.
Hello to all. I have not had a lot to say recently, as nothing interesting to relate. OH about the same. Good days and not so good days.
Thanks to all for your news and photos. Lindy's and Rusty's are lovely.
I can say that I once stayed at Gravetye Manor. Back in the day on one of OH's work "do's". It was good, except that we had the most unappetising croissants that we have ever had! Very greasy and dense. Apart from that the food and atmosphere was very good, if a bit OTT. Also, I do not like my clothes unpacked for me.
Our stay was early in the year so we did not see the best of the famous William Robinson gardens (which was my main interest).
Rosy - We were recommended to see the best of the William Robinson meadow in June/July - apparently they don't cut it between the start of April and the end of September, and it's full of wildflowers from the original seeds sown more than a hundred years ago. We will definitely do that - and you can see the meadow from the 'free' footpaths! I wouldn't want my clothes unpacked either ...
PatO: I was reading about the meadow - allegedly the oldest in England? Would love to see photos after your visit.
Rosy: Nice to see you Hope you have more good than bad days! I've never had my clothes unpacked for me and I'm sure they wouldn't pass muster at Gravetye. Eeek! I can imagine the comments...