Tuesday 27 April 2021

I Spoke Too Soon

That didn't last long! No sooner had my hours been reduced at work, when I was asked to provide cover for a colleague. To be honest, I don't really mind, the shifts are much more convenient for me and I realise how lucky I am to have a job I enjoy, which fits in so well with family life. 

Aside from my mild excitement at getting on top of all the housework recently - oh, how wonderful that feels - day to day life has become fairly mundane. Life is quiet just now, albeit pleasantly so, and all feels good in my little corner. Weekdays are busy with work and school, so weekends are precious and I have been trying to balance going for days out with spending some of our time relaxing at home. 

It's all a bit mixed in the garden just now. The weather has been so dry that the grass hasn't needed cutting and, even though the wildflower seeds appear to be sprouting now, the sweet peas and sunflowers are not enjoying quite the same success. I'll see how they look in another week's time, then I may choose to sow some more. The strawberries are flowering though, and the runner bean is doing well, so all is not lost. After seeing some very creative ideas on one of the gardening programmes, Lily and I decided that we would make ourselves a small container pond and last week our new planter arrived. We needed to fill it from the outside tap so we're leaving it to settle for a week before we get some plants to put in it. I did, however, fit a small solar powered fountain, which is making me very happy indeed - you can change the nozzle to create different sprays :) 






At the weekend we enjoyed a walk from Grasmere up to Easedale Tarn, then beyond up to Tarn Crag. There is a clear and often busy track which leads out from the village but, thanks to our usual early start, it was lovely and quiet while we were there. The path climbs alongside Easdedale Beck and past Sour Milk Gill before reaching the tarn. Here, we enjoyed a short rest and a slice of flapjack before taking the faint grassy track heading north east to reach the summit. Another bright, clear day meant we were afforded some beautiful views from the top before walking the more direct, and less steep, path back down the fell.



The footpath then took us down alongside a drystone wall, and where a small wooden bridge crossed the beck, we sat to eat our picnic lunch, while watching the now steady stream of walkers make their way up to the tarn. I must admit to feeling rather pleased at my decision to have made an early start to our day, which was rounded off perfectly with some chocolate ice-cream when we arrived back in the village.



In other 'exciting' news, I made Honeycomb. And I might just have made myself feel a little bit queasy from eating too much of it :)

J. X







48 comments:

  1. No way could I have resosted that honeycomb - it looks so moreish.

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  2. The honeycomb looks delicious but I understand your feeling of nausea - too much sweetness! However, after all your exercise you were due some nourishment.

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    1. That was my way of thinking as well, Chris. The trouble is I've been 'nourishing' myself a little too well recently :) I really need to start eating better. X

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  3. Nice of you to cover for a colleague and sounds the new schedule works well for you. How lovely to have a little container pond and fountain your garden! Beautiful scenery, as always; glad to see you and Lily enjoying the nice weather. :)

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    1. Thank you, Bless. The new hours are actually working out well for me. It means an early start every morning but I'm used to that anyway. X

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  4. That is great that you got more work hours and a schedule that works for you. Many times things happen for a reason and then we are brought to new and better opportunities.

    Sometimes I complain about all the rain we seem to have in the spring but I will take that over dry any day. I hope you get some rain soon so that your seeds will grow and flourish.

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    1. I think I will be working these new hours until the Summer at least and, although it means an early start each day, it suits me much better.
      We must surely be due some rain soon. You can see from the photograph of the beck just how dry it has been lately. X

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  5. You seem to have your work-life balance just about right. The weather has been beautiful but we are do some rain and it's been forecast for this week so that's good for our gardens. I like your solar powered fountain, I've never seen one of those before. Ooh your honeycomb, yum yum.

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    1. The fountain is a great feature. I'm really pleased with it. X

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  6. That honeycomb definitely looks very moreish and I’m very impressed with your container pond. I’d never thought to get a solar fountain, I might look into that idea. Gorgeous photos of your countryside. B x

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    1. I ordered the fountain online, Barbara. It wasn't expensive. X

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  7. The honeycomb looks lovely, I think I'd have to fight you for it :) When I was a kid it was known as cinder toffee, we would get it from the local 'toffee shop' and it was weighed out from a big jar.

    Your walk looks and sounds lovely, and early starts certainly pay off. A stunning third photo, is that Easedale Tarn?

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    1. Thank you, Eunice. Yes, that's Easedale Tarn. It can get busy there, as it's a nice gentle walk from the centre of Grasmere. X

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  8. I love honeycomb, it's years since I've made any. It does pay to set off early before the crowds, especially in places which get busy. It's nice to have somewhere to yourself, if only for a little while. I like your little pond. We put a tiny wildlife pond in our garden quite a few years ago now and it's amazing how many creatures use it.

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    1. I always set off early in order to avoid the crowds. It can get very busy there at the tarn.
      I'm looking forward to seeing if our pond attracts any wildlife. Some of the visiting birds have been drinking out of it already. X

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  9. Everything is do dry at the moment. We seem to have extremes of weather lately. I love the container pond, my niece built one last year with a solar fountain in it.

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    1. The garden is only small, so the pond fits in nicely. X

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  10. You have been on some fabulous walks lately and your photos are stunning. When you say "early start" I wondered what you meant - 6.00am? 8.00am?

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    1. We really have enjoyed some wonderful walks. Having been fortunate with the weather recently, I've tried to take advantage of these bright sunny days.
      Ideally, I like to set off walking by 9a.m. or a little earlier if Lily is co-operating :) X

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  11. Sunday I was muttering dark things about how dry the garden was, yesterday it rained, gently and persistently for most of the afternoon and evening and today the garden has breathed a sigh of relief and has visibly expanded - (bit like my waste line - I too have been self-nourishing a little too well!)

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    1. I was laughing with a colleague yesterday that when it rained I immediately thought, 'that's great for the gardens' - I'm just that old now :)

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  12. I absolutely love your container pond - my younger two would love creating something like that for our garden. I shall show it to Hubby as he is the practical one, I'm just full of ideas!

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    1. It's very simple to create. You just need a container of some sort, some rocks, then put in a few plants. I'm hoping to get mine at the weekend. X

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  13. I've just scrolled back through your photographs. They are excellent. Great compositions and clarity.

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    1. Thank you. I use my phone to take all my photographs. They upload to Google Photos via the app, so it's very simple to add them to my blog. X

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  14. Your whisky barrel water feature is pretty, I want one of them. I didn't know there was such a thing as a solar powered water fountains. What plants are you going to use? The little pond will be so good for wildlife in your garden, particularly when it is so dry. We had to water our vegetable garden last weekend, unusual for this time of year.

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    1. Thank you, Christina. I think it looks quite good even though it's actually made of plastic. The little fountain is a cute addition, I ordered it from Amazon for around £11.
      I'm not sure what plants I'm going to get for it yet. I'm hoping to visit the garden nursery at the weekend and they specialise in water gardening. X

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  15. I have often pondered about making a water feature but haven't as yet, I'll be interested to see how successful yours is so please keep us posted. Amazing views as always and I love the look of that honeycomb I wouldn't dare have it in the house because I would eat the lot and then suffer for it haha, Take Care. xx

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    1. That's just what I did, Linda. And I should know better at my age :)

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  16. I love your little pond!
    Goodness me, your landscape does look dry - but still gorgeous. It's been ages since we had any significant rainfall but last night made up for it.
    I'm not a sweet tooth but your honeycomb looks so pretty I think I'd be tempted with a nibble! xxx

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    1. Thank you, Vix. Yes, it wasn't until I looked at these photographs that I realised just how dry it was. I'm sure that will all change soon, as we're forecast some rain next week. X

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  17. Your photos are always so beautiful. Congratulations on the extra income. It sounds like they really value you at work. I am impressed with your honeycomb!

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. I was impressed with the honeycomb too, as the last time I tried to make some I burned it :D X

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  18. I'm returning to work for one shift on Saturday followed by a week off. I will not be taking on any extra duties for quite some time...I will not!! Oh how I know that queasy from over indulding feeling it...oops. x

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    1. You'd better not! You need to build yourself up again gently. X

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  19. Delightful pond...

    Hope the work schedule will continue to be best for you.

    🌿💛🌿

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  20. Easedale tarn looks lovely. It's always a great idea to get an early start. :)

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    1. It is lovely there, so it was great we could enjoy it while it was quiet. X

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  21. That honeycomb looks heavenly! I love the craggy landscape and you half barrel fountain pot is wonderful. It is actually making me feel a bit thirsty. Time for more tea I think..... Lulu xXx

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  22. I love honeycomb, never been brave enough to make some though.

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    1. It didn't take long to make. I was very careful not to burn it this time. X

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  23. That walk takes me back, Jules. Thank you. I have a feeling that the last time I did it was with my Mum and Dad many moons ago. They would have been a reasonable age but they were very fit - probably fitter than I was at the time.

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    1. It's a lovely walk up to the tarn and very popular. In contrast, aside from two other people just leaving the summit, we had the fell to ourselves. X

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  24. So nice to see the blue sky in your photographs.

    All the best Jan

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    1. I always think the mountains look so impressive against a bright blue sky. X

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