Little Fishies

My dear hubby has been a fisherman since boyhood and has caught monster salmon, skate, tuna and just about everything else in his time.  He labels himself, a country boy, and enjoys nothing more than instilling the love of the countryside into our grandchildren.  This weekend was no exception and we spent hours on the banks of the beautiful river not far from our back gate.  As you might notice Little C is sporting a plaster cast as a result of a broken arm whilst playing football but this didn't stop him wading in until the water came over the top of his boots.  It became even more fun when he got to wear my wellies which are two sizes too big because he could go in even deeper.  After all the little fishes were safely returned to their river home we ended the day as we always do with a few games of Pooh Sticks.  It may not be great summer weather but who even noticed if the sun was out or not, summer is just about having fun and that's pretty easy with these two.

Little C at the ready

Boo and Grandad know the biggest fish hide under the bridge

Just weighing up the options!

Three heads are better than one

Playing Pooh Sticks

Didn't we have fun

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Father's Day

A beautiful morning walk along this stretch of river only two minutes from our back gate.  The water was quite coloured and running fairly high after the recent rains.

What a blessing, a lovely daughter who is also a wonderful cook.  A celebratory meal in good company and a fantastic bottle of his favourite tipple made it all a really special day for this really special Dad.

                                                                         

Cheers!

Hosepipe Ban !!!!

For the last month we have had a hosepipe ban in this area.  Almost since the day it was enforced we have had nothing but torrential rain.  I am a great believer in nature taking care of itself and so now we are paying the price for two dry winters and little spring rain.  The roses are beautiful at the moment, Compassion on the cottage wall and Zephirine drouhin over the arch and they smell divine as you walk past but the rain is taking its toll and the wind is blowing the petals to shreds.

Rosa Zepherine drouhin

Tomorrow I should have been hosting a garden party for 40 people but sadly we have had to reorganise to an indoor location because of 40 mph gusts of wind and continual downpours.

40 mph wind in our apple trees

 Why are we not surprised or fazed by any of this  -   because actually it is just a traditional English summer.  Note to the Powers That Be - don't bother calling off the hosepipe ban the last thing we need to do is water the garden, we are busy giving our plants swimming lessons.!!

Bleak Mid-Winter

It is often said that without our variable weather the English would have nothing to talk about.  Having enjoyed a really mild winter to this point the temperatures have now dropped to minus 6 or more every evening coupled with some heavy snow showers.  Daffodils in the garden are just about to break bud, primroses and snowdrops are in full flower but for the moment they are all under a foot of snow. A steaming mug of coffee and a pile of seed catalogues - armchair gardening is the order of the day.