In the garden..

It's been so nice to be outside over last few weeks. The newfies and I love to sit in the gazebo until quite late on these long, warm evenings, and then Ben and I often go for a final walk up through the woods whilst Amy snoozes gently on the cool slates of the courtyard. I love this time of year when everything seems so full of new life and potential. The lanes are especially lovely at present - although the bluebells are over, the cow parsley froths along the verges, ragged robin and willowherb peek through the grass and the dog-roses are just beginning to bloom in the hedgerows.

In the garden we have geraniums in the old stone trough ....

Sweet peas and scabious in the apple crates...

and a newfoundland dog in the lavender ....(!)

Yes, it's Amy .... if it had been Ben it would have been an action shot of him crashing THROUGH the lavender. Happy days !!

At last the sun shone!

This weekend was very busy for us sleepy South Hams people (and newfies). We had guests!! Not one set, but three sets of people came to visit us in the course of only a week. Ben and Amy were overcome with hospitality, with so many people to snuffle, kiss and generally keep an eye on!!

Visitors are soooooo exhausting - Ben didn't even manage to finish his treat. Amy finished it for him later!!

Friday was Sasha's Christening. Sasha is my Russian friend Elona's young son - and I am his VERY proud godmother. The service was lovely and we were sooo lucky with the weather - at last the sun came out! After the service we all went back to Rory and Elona's for refreshments and were able to enjoy the novel (for this summer anyway) experience of sitting outside on the patio. Rory (who is very competitive) challenged Kyran (who is 5) to a game of Jenga.

Sadly for Rory on this occasion experience did not triumph over youth!!

Kyran was jubilant and Rory gracious in defeat. So everyone was happy!!

The following day we decided to take the number 93 to Dartmouth and indulge in a little liquid refreshment in the Cherub Inn. The Cherub dates back to around 1380 and features many low beams and wobbly floors - just right to trap the unwary drinker or unobservant tourist. We love it for its great atmosphere and extreme dog-friendliness. I am pleased to report that a tin of dog biscuits is kept behind the bar for distribution to all canine visitors. Sadly only one newf at a time can visit as the floor space simply isn't large enough for my two furry friends to lounge around.

I think that the bus route from Torcross to Dartmouth must be one of the most beautiful in the country. My camera was still in my bag from yesterday's christening so I was able to take quite a few photos from the top deck as we rattled along the narrow roads, pausing only to terrorise caravan and camper van drivers into submission. I love to sit at the front and watch the look of pure terror on some drivers' faces when they're faced with a series of narrow bends and an immovable double decker bus! (Yes I know I am a very bad person!!)

Anyway, back to the photos ..... please ignore the strange reflections and wobbles as they were taken through the window.

Slapton Ley from the bus stop at Torcross.

Sweeping view across Start Bay

On the beach at Blackpool Sands - could almost be the south of France - but there's nobody in the extremely chilly water!!

Looking down into Dartmouth

View across to Kingswear

Dartmouth was surprisingly quiet for a sunny Saturday in August - perhaps everyone was making the most of the unusually sunny weather by heading off to the beaches or onto the water. The pirates were in town ..

So we headed inland ...

One of my favourite shops

View across the Boat Float

Then the number 93 took us home again. On the way home the farmers were busy taking advantage of the sunny spell and I was struck by the golden corn and the feeling that soon the year will turn again and autumn is only just around the corner.

But there's still some more summer to come (I hope!) - the Dartmouth Regatta at the end of the month, then I'm exhibiting at Kingsbridge Show. I've also signed up for the Christmas Candlelit Shopping in Dartmouth, so keeping very very busy!

Kingsbridge in Bloom

The Quay at Kingsbridge

Over the last few weeks Kingsbridge has been a hive of activity as the town prepared for its 2009 Britain in Bloom entry. There have been a lot of unkind comments about Britain in Bloom over the years, but I think that any initiative which encourages us, as a community, to take a pride in our environment must be positive - whether you're a fan of bedding schemes and hanging baskets or not .... surely they're better than graffitti and litter?

Anyway, lots of teams of volunteers have been spotted weeding, pruning, training and planting all over the town. Local businesses put pots of flowers out each morning and the larger companies have sponsored tubs and other features. Even the W.I. has a boat planted out !!!

And the committee commissioned a beautiful map of the judging route from a local artist ... I think it's great and hope it's used again next year...

And finally ... from my well-thumbed Book of Days - on July29 1907 Robert Baden-Powell took a group of boys to Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, on the south coast of England, for what was effectively the first Scout camp. The aim was to try out some of the ideas that were to become the basic principles and activities of the Scout movement; fostering a sense of honour, loyalty and good citizenship; achieving physical fitness through exercise; and developing practical skills such as woodcraft, tracking, observation, signalling and first aid. The boys were divided into 4 patrols, each assigned a tent for sleeping quarters. Morning prayers were followed by drills, games and instruction, interspersed with quiet rest periods and the day ended with stories around the campfire. The experiment was deemed to be a great success, and Scouting was born.

Just think - if the weather had been as truly awful as it has been today, then the Scouting movement might never have got off the ground, but sunk in the mud instead - just like the poor campers out at Lannacombe.

Amy, Queen of the Fete

Saturday was our Parish Fete day. We were lucky - the sun shone and the skies were blue, loads of people came and the money rolled in! Amy attended as a competition once more ... this year she was "Guess my Birthday". Here she is proudly sitting next to her prize, a cushion featuring the signs of the Zodiac (made by me!). What you can't see in this photo is her harness,

And it hasn't come out very well in this photo ... it actually gives details of the competition and asks, "Am I a Furgo? Or maybe a Pawsces? I might even be a Hairies! Scpawpio? Or not?" I can hear the collective groan!! Anyway, she did really well, raising nearly £25 which is a lot of 25 pences.

Similar to Amy's prize and available for sale on DevonBear Designs.

And of course Amy always enjoys the opportunity to meet her young fans!

The fete was held in the grounds of Stokenham House which has wonderful views down towards the sweep of Start Bay. The lawns were soon dotted with people simply sitting, enjoying their icecreams and the wonderful gardens.

The icecream stall did a roaring trade

So did the raffleWhilst there was face painting, Splat the Rat, a coconut shy and other events in the field. People came from far and wide to enjoy themselves, and it was a hot, happy and totally exhausting afternoon. There was jazz in the Church House Inn, the pub next to the church on the village green and the merry making went on well into the evening. Then we went home, to be met by an irate Ben who demanded to know where Amy had been and why he hadn't gone too!

Maybe next year Ben!

Two swallows

Two beautiful young swallows have made a nest in the eaves of our log store. It is a very beautiful nest, placed out of reach on the oak cross beam, sheltered beneath the slates and safe from predators. They crafted it very carefully from beak-fulls of mud and are clearly very proud of it. I haven't peeped inside as this is the first year we've had swallows come to live with us and I don't want to frighten them away. They are very protective of their nest though, and the male in particular has a very annoying habit of "buzzing" me as I go to and from the garden. Sometimes he swoops so low that I can actually feel the downdraft from his wings. I wish there was some way I could make them understand that I'm no danger to their young. They also visit me from time to time, sweeping in through the open back door where Ben and Amy like to snooze in the breeze, and pirouetting up through the house, emerging through one of the bedroom windows which are permanently open at this time of year.

Swallows are so much part of summer in this part of Devon - they seem to be everywhere, swooping low over the roads to take insects, then circling high into the sky in an amazing demonstration of aerobatic skill. A large colony spend the summer months in the tumbledown barns over the road, and the air is full of their shrill cries. It's always sad when they start to gather on the telephone wires at the beginning of autumn, but that's a long way off yet.

But in case I forget to post it when September arrives - I hope you enjoy this poem now!

Demented

I'm a great fan of the Demented cartoon strip by Jacky Fleming which comes out in the Mail on Sunday magazine. I particularly enjoyed this week's offering which I think just about sums up the last few months .....

.. and not just the weather!! Enjoy.

Time for Tea

Of course the poem I had in mind when setting the hands on this clock was not Hickory Dickory Dock at all, but Rupert Brooke's Grantchester with its final evocative line ...

"Stands the church clock at ten to three?

And is there honey still for tea?"

Thinking of honey, there has been a lot of publicity lately about the mystery honey bee illness that has been decimating hives across America and now there are fears that it might have reached Britain. I was talking to a local bee keeper last week and thankfully there are no signs of problems in our locality as yet, and hopefully never.

Certainly the bees have been busy these last few weeks in the gaps between rainfall. First the lavender which thrives in the hot and (normally) sunny garden at the front of the house, and lately they have been drawn to the ice-plants which are just coming into flower. They are so funny to watch on these, they seem to adore the nectar, becoming drowsy and heavy, hardly able to summon the strength to lift themselves in flight!

Of course the ice-plants flowering is the signal that summer, such as it has been this year, will soon be over and autumn will be upon us. I love autumn, the whiff of woodsmoke on the wind as everyone begins to tidy their gardens, the first chill in the air and the woods just edged in gold. But I do hope we see something of summer first! I was asked to paint some beach huts for a local shop to feature on some bags ....

And then I considered all our usual summer treats that have sadly been few and far between this year ... eating in the gazebo, with the starlight and the moon and our delicate Japanese lanterns strung from the trees in festive fashion .... hot summer afternoons swinging gently in the stripey hammock .... sand between my toes and in the sandwiches at the beach ... but maybe September will be fine - there's still time...

Rosie returns from her gap year in three weeks time, it's hard to believe she's been away since January, the time has passed so quickly. She's spent the last few weeks in Thailand, and has ridden elephants, stroked tigers and enjoyed beach parties under a full moon. Returning to England may well be a shock to the system, but it will be wonderful to see her again. She's requested large quantities of Galaxy chocolate, and Mum's roast dinner to celebrate her return!

In the summer I often roast new potatoes with rosemary from the garden and will leave you with this easy recipe ...

You need a nice hot oven. Put your new potatoes (cut them in half if they're large) into a plastic bag with a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped rosemary (garlic too if you like), some sea salt and cracked black pepper, then squidge around in the bag until they're nicely coated. Tip onto a heavy baking tray and roast for 30 mins. Turn over and leave a bit longer if needed - and that's it. Lovely cold too - good to take on picnics (but watch out for marauding newfies - they adore them!). Happy days indeed!