Puffins!

Back home now after a couple of adventures...went to a family party in Germany over the weekend, then an overnight stay in Pembrokeshire at the lovely "Jabajak" (restaurant with rooms) and a trip to Skomer island - perfect!

Puffin on Skomer island...

Now, I don't know how this happened but I have always wanted to see puffins and was terribly excited about our visit to Skomer.  The island did not disappoint - what a place!  Fields of bluebells and red campion as far as the eye could see, stunning birds including the cutest of them all: the puffin!   I managed to take quite a few photos of the little fellas (see above) and we just couldn't stop watching them!  They are busy building nests at the moment and in some cases chicks have already hatched, so you can see the adults flying in from the sea with a beak full of fish.  What a treat!  Can't wait to go back again!

Simply stunning

Chives in flower...

Here is to enjoying the small things like chives in flower looking beautiful in the sunshine!  Simple pleasures are the most profound!

Jobs in the garden

This week promises to be a sunny one, so I am making a little list of jobs to do in the garden: mowing the lawn, weeding, planting out tomatoes & pumpkins, sowing lettuce seeds, earthing up 2nd lot of spuds... That should keep me busy!  And I suppose I will have to water the veggies as well, since there is no rain at all forecast for the next week or so. 

I fear my broad beans have not survived the onslaught by the slugs, so I will plant some new seeds and hope that the protective netting "cage" I bought will be enough to protect them.  Since the pumpkins are supposed to be going out into the same cage, I do really hope this works as I doubt there'll be anything left if the slugs find a way through it.

In the park this morning everything was peaceful and glorious!  I saw a blue tit flying into one of the nesting boxes, so I guess there are baby blue tits in the making there.  I wasn't fast enough to take a photo but it was nice to watch what was going on.

I did take this slightly wobbly picture though - holding the dog lead in one hand with dog pulling and trying to take a photo is not easy :-)

Oh, and on the baking front a new favourite has been added to the list: pineapple cake!  Recently, I made a pear loaf cake which was ok but not that fruity - well, I have amended the recipe using fresh pineapple instead and the cake was absolutely delicious!  Very fragrant and so yummy that by the time I thought of taking a picture, the cake had already disappeared.  Oops - maybe next time!

Of slugs and wild ponies...

It's been a few days since my last post and since then we have had lots more rain but also some glorious sunshine over the weekend.  That mixture of moisture and warmth has meant that all the plants are growing rapidly, well, apart from those that got eaten by the slugs :-(  I have only two out of my seven broad bean plants left and the Valmaine lettuce has not even made it further than germination before they got snuffled.  The only way to protect the plants and the pumpkins I am planning to plant out soon is to get a great big cloche or some netting to cover everything.  Very frustrating but not at all unexpected!  At least the spuds, onions and garlic are still going strong as are the plants growing indoors...luckily, the slugs haven't found a way yet to break into the house and let's hope they don't! ;-)

We took the dog for a lovely walk up Cefn Bryn yesterday - it's probably one of the most stunning places on earth and really not far from where we are.  The photo doesn't do the view justice but you can see that the wild ponies were enjoying it as much as we were...

Wild ponies at Cefn Bryn...

Bloomin' marvellous

Azaleas in full bloom...

 I love the beginning of May - it's the time when both of our pink azaleas are normally in full bloom.  Don't they look stunning?  The photo doesn't even do it justice!

Just as I was looking out earlier today, a duck landed in our pond, had a little (very little) swim and then took off again.  How on earth he managed to spot our little pond from up in the air is beyond me :-)  Unfortunately, I only managed to take a quick snap through the closed door but at least I got a picture!

A visitor to the pond...

There seems to be lots happening in the garden!  Only yesterday did I notice one of the birds - a great tit - investigating our dog's tennis ball on the path and then picking off fibers which were no doubt destined to make the nest more comfortable for this year's offspring.  Again, I was amazed how this little creature realised that this strange object would be a good supplier of bedding but I guess nature never ceases to amaze :-).  I managed to shoot a little film but will have to tidy it up a bit to zoom in a more, so footage to follow...

The kindness of strangers

Every now and again something happens that puts my faith back into the human race.  This is one of those occasions:  a few weeks ago I took our puppy for a walk in the park and got chatting to a couple who were sitting on a bench, enjoying the view.  We talked for a bit, they took a couple of photos of the dog and off we went our separate ways.  Well, a couple of days ago I was on one of my dog walks again when by chance I bumped into the same couple.  They gave me prints of the photos which they had brought along in the hope they might see us again.  I thought that was just such a lovely thing to do, so thank you to my kind strangers!

October storms in April

To say it has been breezy here over the last couple of days would be an understatement - it feels as if it should be October with these storms, rain and cold!  I was very sad to see that one of the large old trees in the park toppled over yesterday but luckily, no one got hurt.  Still, it was such a shame to see such a magnificent giant brought to its knees. :-( 

What a nightmare this weather also is for the organisers of our local park festival that is due to start tomorrow for the month of May - they have to check all the trees to make sure it is safe to walk around, tidy up any fallen branches etc.

Our big old hawthorn in the garden seems to be holding up remarkably well - long may it continue!  I am just glad I did all my gardening on Saturday as it really hasn't been the weather to be outdoors.  Try telling the dog that as he still insisted on his two walks per day.  It is supposed to get brighter and calmer out there as of tomorrow, so fingers crossed...

I have planted another lot of potatoes in a large bag and am trying to protect my broad beans from the slugs - hopefully, the measures taken will be successful (nematodes, netting, plastic bottles...).  Indoors, I have now potted on all my tomato (9) and pumpkin (3) plants - the peppers are still too small and delicate to handle, so they'll have to wait for their move into a bigger "home".

Going loco at the local food festival

Food festival goodies

As you know, I love making things, especially when it comes to food.  This morning, however, it was time to visit the "professionals" at the Gorseinon Food Festival.

After going to "just have a look" at the different stalls, we carried home some lovely rye bread, soda bread, goats cheese, nettle cheese, honey, pork pies and honey lip balm as well as a couple of bottles of local ale and some stunning Persian food.  Now, if you have never tried Persian cuisine, I shall urge you to do so at the next opportunity!  It is quite unlike anything I have ever tasted before and utterly delicious!  The dishes we took home were Ash E Reshteh (a thick vegetarian soup with noodles) and Fesenjaan (a meat stew made with pomegranate).  The latter is in the freezer ready to brighten up another day but we had the soup for our lunch - oh wow!  And we still have all the other goodies to tuck into... :-)

A bunch of people passionate about their local produce - a truly delightful way to spend the morning!  We shall definitely look out for more local markets!

Heartwarming food on a rainy day

It's very stormy and rainy today - a proper April day!  Not ideal dog walking weather...

Bramley Lemon Curd...

I tried out a new recipe yesterday - Bramley Lemon Curd... since curd doesn't keep that long and this was a new recipe, I only made a small jar as a test but I think this could be a winner.  I might use it as a filling in a Swiss roll or in a pie...or just stirred into some plain yogurt.  It's just so nice that I have the time at the moment to try out new things, something that I didn't have when I was still working in London.  I know how lucky I am and feel very privileged!

I forgot to mention that whilst looking out of the window a couple of days I spotted a male bullfinch in the garden!  Now, we haven't seen finches here for ages, so it was really exciting!  I am sure there was a female there too, so fingers crossed they are nesting nearby and that they have a brood of chicks!

Right, the dog now wants his walk, so I better had put on my wellies and rain coat...

Garden update

Gosh - I am not sure where the last few days have gone!  It is definitely time for an update as the plants in the veg garden and indoors have been growing so much!  Here are a few photos of what's been happening...

Peppers, tomatoes & pumpkin

On the window ledge, the seeds have germinated, even the bell pepper ones!  It is funny how different the growth rate is when you compare the different plants.  The pumpkin ones were large from the word go, the pepper ones are much more delicate and small.  The tomatoes are doing really well and I have planted some of these on into bigger pots with the others to follow as soon as I have had a chance to buy some more pots.  They do seem to be thriving and I haven't even started using the tomato fertiliser yet... If they all survive and crop, we will have a glut of epic proportions :-)  Fingers crossed!  Tomato salad, sun dried tomatoes, tomato sauce....yummy!

Tomato "tree"

Outside crops...

Outside, the raised bed and grow bags are also looking good!  This photo was taken this morning and since then I have earthed the spuds up again to make sure the tubers don't turn green (or whatever they do when you don't do the earthing up). 

You can see that the garlic, onions and broad beans are thriving too and I have just noticed that the lettuce seeds have germinated, so those should be coming through nicely as well now.

With the weather a mixture of showers and a bit of sunshine it's been ideal conditions and it is just a joy to see how everything is coming along!  Which reminds me that I need to order the veg mesh to protect the plot before other creatures find it as alluring!

Whilst our own rhubarb is not quite ready yet, I have bought some and made more jam - 8 jars of it, so that should keep us and family/friends happy for a bit.  Can't wait for the strawberry season, although I am already running out of jam jars, so might have to source some sooner rather than later.  There is always something to do which is exactly how I like it!  I am already thinking about other little projects like making elderflower cordial...and I am sure there is more baking to be done...