OK, so I’m actually writing it on Sunday, but cast your mind back – where have I been on the last dozen Fridays?
Yes, in the Mencap garden again, drinking tea. It was nice and warm in the sun, though chilly in the shade.
There were Great Tits on the newly erected feeder, though not after I raised the camera. Same goes for the Robins singing in the trees, the Magpies perching in high places. A flock of about 60 birds kept flying round the main building – Julia has a theory they are after the warmth.
I had a typo in there for a moment – Magpires. They are post-apocalyptic blood-sucking crows.
So, in the garden, drinking tea, trying to photograph birds and spelling badly. It’s not how I imagined my life developing, but there are worse places to be.
Julia has given me instructions and I am now gathering my equipment as next week we will be assembling the example nest box and marking them up for the group to build.
Saturday started earlier than usual, as Julia was filling in for someone. I then went to visit a jeweller and bought ingredients for the evening meal. These are two different activities, and an example of sloppy writing. I visited the jeweller and then went to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for our evening meal.
It will be Julia’s birthday soon and I need to find a present. So far I’m not having much success.
In the afternoon I went to visit my Dad with Number One son. We did a jigsaw, played Beetle and lost to my sister at Snakes and Ladders.
Does Number One son realise this will be his destiny, I wonder?
On Friday (moving back in time again) I watched Dr Phil on Countdown. He was talking about measures we should take to ensure continuing good health. The mnemonic to remember is clangers. This year has shown I can easily slip into bad habits so I’m going to ensure that I don’t do the same again. If it means I have to be nice to people I suppose it’s a sacrifice worth making.
It’s very much along the lines of Green Care, Green Gym, Blue Sky Hospital or whatever else you want to call it. You get out, meet people, exercise, learn and end up better for it.
Back at home (Saturday evening) we reheated the casserole and ate it with samphire. This was, as they warn, salty, but also crispy and fresh. It reminded me of a time when I was young and broke. I picked samphire when camping, boiled it and ate an entire mess tin of it to save money. Today that would be a disaster, but my youthful digestion had no problem.
It was a bit too salty for my taste at the time and it has taken me 40 years to eat it again. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it this time. round.
That looks like a beautiful day there at the Mencap garden, Quercus. I especially love the bright faces of marigolds.
It was nice in the sun but a bit nippy in the shade.
Beautiful photos! I especially like the backlit Sumach.
I was fortunate with for once. 🙂
Being nice to people? Can it be done when they are so inconsiderate, incompetent and in the way all the time?
It will need some work, I admit. 🙂
This post made me laugh out loud. I did wonder what you found to eat at the Jewelers. Good luck finding a lovely present for Julia.
I am applying myself to it. 🙂
Keep us posted!
I will. 🙂
It looked like a pleasantly sunny day. Good shots
Thanks Derrick – sun, flowers and dew seemed to fall into place for me.
Lovely photographs.
Thank you – everything seemed to fall into place.
I was surprised by how salty some chard was the other day.
Anyway, ‘clangers’ is a new one for me but I would say I am trying to live by those rules as far as possible.
The Mencap garden still looks good, especially considering the slide towards winter.
I’m glad you didn’t get your food from the jeweller’s!
I suppose food is a reflection of the minerals they are bringing up from the soil. I also notice that I am much more sensitive to salt after thirty years of leaving it out of cooking.
That could be true of me, too!
🙂