Summer colours, bees and fruits

I spent some time just looking today, appreciating 

how beautiful things are in the garden right now.

 

the ground is still delivering 

despite a lack of attention from me..

I dug some more of our own potatoes, 

still more in the ground to dig 

but these will give us a few meals.

First gooseberries, enough for a small crumble. 

Courgettes on the way......

Bees buzzing...

and the laurel is in flower too, 

one of the benefits of not cutting the hedge..

So all's well with the world!

 

Just have to make sure I put the leek seedlings in soon 

as they are another vege that gives a lot back 

for a very small input of time, 

just right for my sort of gardening ...

Walk (& swim) round the tarn, much to Lilly's consternation

Often I put my iphone pics up on twitpic and forget to use them on the blog but I thought I'd like to keep a bit more of a record of these ones as it was a really nice day.

We're really lucky to have such amazing countryside all around us and I don't think I have blogged about this place before so this is a tarn about 15 minutes drive from the house and then about a twenty minute walk up the hill. We always used to swim in it as kids and every now and then still do.It's quite a bleak place in some ways but at this time of year there's lots of colour hidden away, like the heather in flower, the bog cotton and the lilies in the tarn, so quite an appropriate place to come after all.

There are  boggy patches round the far side where the Bog Cotton flourishes, and as well as watching your step so you don't end up in over your boots, you always have to be careful when you walk round here, to make a lot of noise as there are skinny dippers every now and then, real "wild swimming."

With bogs comes mud so even Lil, who as a pup would always walk around a puddle rather than rush through, got muddy but not so you would really notice. 

We found some wild water lilies in flower which was a real treat & I was pleased to get a shot of Lil with her namesake but she had heard something in the distance and just wanted to find out what was going on. And as ususal she was right, there was something going on. Teen#2 who had been hanging out with some friends on the other side had decided to swim over to meet us, have a chat....

and then swim back .... Lil was really worried about him and watched him the whole way back.

Ben & Pebble

Now that it's the school holidays it means we have more time to visit friends locally. Meet Ben a very gorgeous GR who is the size of a bear and loves chewing.

and Pebble who is a very successfully re-homed rescue dog, who has settled into her new home as if she'd always been here.  Need to take our good camera next time we go over, just to show we can get those action shots, just seriously off duty here. 
Ben really liked this ring, but most of the time they were chasing around having a great time.
Pebble is definitely the Boss dog so we brought several toys but as no one stayed still very long, a group shot wasn't easy to set up especially just using the camera on the iPhone ....so much of the time this is all we got! 

Then while the dogs had a rest, the humans went in & laughed at themselves trying to do Yoga on Wii Fit instead. After all they need to keep fit to keep up with their four legged friends.

Walks, near misses & our own potatoes

Well, Summer's moving on & the crowd here have been busy with hospital visits, I'm afraid, this time my mum. We're working on the hospital to let us bring Lilly to see her -she has been in for what must now be a couple of weeks. But in the mean time, Lilly and I have been  getting my dad back into his walking routine while she is in hospital.

 

He always likes walks with a bit of history and this was one we hadn't been along for about 15 yrs! To make the most of the time we decided to have a walk & a picnic which worked out well. This could be a good one with a wheel chair which fits our agenda as we are  trying to suss out potential walks they can do together when she comes home. 

So, no gardening to mention and the place is getting rather wild. But today we lifted our first potatoes, they taste so different to shop bought ones, don't know why.

 Just lifted enough for lunch which is in the oven as I blog. Photo taken of them in my own basket, made with a lot of help at a workshop a few years ago, shows why the beautiful ones hen4 makes are such good value, a thing of beauty for years to come, well hers not mine!

As usual nothing happens here without the dogs getting involved, Daisy had to check out the potatoes that I thought, misguidedly, to show them as part of practising a basic leave command, they obviously smelt scrumptious and behind the camera I lost "command" of the situation! But they all scrubbed up fine and due to the cook's perogative of being able to test things first, I can tell you they taste amazing. Talking of training....

.....we have left the dog crate that is normally in the back of the car at my Dad's house so the dogs can stay there & stay cool while I visit the hospital. Which meant we had a near miss this week, just as we set out on a favourite walk. Despite the  "stay" as I lifted the hatchback which usually is enough, Archie, the cool dude at the end (who had seen someone else set off just before us) slipped under the door as I lifted it and hared up the path to greet them, with Lilly in close pursuit. All well that ends well and they soon returned to my call but I wasn't happy and realised we needed to return to basics, without a barrier, in the boot. So here they are practising  a group stay in the back of the car. Archie looks as if he is soo bored with the whole thing but he is the one who really needs it. 

I hope we will be able to take Daisy to some events as part of the Press Pack soon, so Lilly has been giving her some pointers on how to be a star, and show off her best side. To be honest I think she will be a natural, but we have started practising some games we can play with very little space so she doesn't get bored. She is a different kettle of fish to Lilly, still gentle but very fast and quick which could be scary to people. So she has lots to learn. 

The garden is moving on as always & the lavateria has come into flower at the front of the house. The nasturciums are coming along in the salvaged fishing float my brother gave me after a flotsam walk along the beach, it works really well, they stay damp as there's no drainage and I rather like the ragged edge of the float against the green leaves.

Any way I think Archie is telling me I am burning dinner so I had better go & see what I can salvage from the oven!