IN AT THE DEEP END

I think the seasons have got mixed up in our garden. The Cannas and Brugmansias aren't showing a hint of a bud, yet the Pieris are already making their buds for next year!!!

The warmer weather seems to have brought the dreaded Lily Beetle out of hiding again as on these.....................I found this.............
I've allowed him his moment of blog-glory but I can assure you that measures have been taken to ensure he won't be back again!!!!

Something I was pleased to see was this Brimstone Butterfly.....................not the greatest photo but the first one I've managed to take of this particular beauty this year.........I'm sure I'll be seeing a few more bees as the Agastache is starting to flower......this is one of the self seedlings I found in the gravel ages ago and replanted................
you have to get up pretty early in the morning to get a photo "sans bee"............This penstemon has started to flower...its one I've grown from the seed of my blue Penstemon and seems quite a strong plant.....................
Now I bet my neighbours thought I'd rented an allotment when they saw me walking down the road with these yesterday afternoon.......................In fact I was on my way to the school; the Memorial Garden, (in memory of a much loved teacher who died last year) which is a job in progress, needed to be dug over before the slabs can be laid.........................so volunteers had been asked for......as you can see they came in their droves......NOT!!!!
Despite the rain we've had the ground was like concrete and the few of us who did turn up dug solidly for 2 hours.....................I think I won't be the only one with an aching back and blisters today..........
the bonus was that we all jumped in the school pool to cool off afterwards..................
I think the last time I went for a swim was in 2004 when Mick and I went for a day out to Southwold....................(sweet memories)....................

As you can see from the photo below of Manda's dripping trousers....we actually jumped in fully clothed!!!!!!...........................


except Nicole who had her costume with her as she'd had swimming at school...............
the water was lovely and warm but the walk home in our dripping clothes was quite chilly......it was FUN though!!!!! I was glad there was some of the Apricot Almond cake left that I'd made in the morning as all the digging and swimming had given me a heck of an appetite.............

If you want the recipe just click on the photo above...........................
I know some of you keep chickens; well I heard on the news that at The Pensthorpe Nature Reserve, near Fakenham a bantam hen has incubated and hatched a Sandhill Crane...

isn't that a lovely fostering story...............the chick's now bigger than it's foster mum!

Those of you who have followed my/our lives on There Are A Million Stories will know that I've another appointment with the Citizen's Advice Bureau today in my attempt to resolve some of the financial problems I've had since Mick's passing. Finger crossed that all goes well......

GOING BANANAS

I had a lovely stroll round the market yesterday but I had to hold back...with the prices being so much cheaper than the supermarket it's easy to buy more than you need....or at least more than you can EAT! I mean look at all these bananas I got for just £1........ it's not as though they were cheap because the were past their best...some are still ripening. Unless I'm going on a "banana only" diet I know I won't eat them all but luckily Manda & co took some off my hands and if any get over ripe.....well I do make a smashing Banana Bread! You may wonder....why didn't I just buy fewer bananas...well therein lies the rub....it's CHEAPER to buy MORE!!!!

Shopping for one is really expensive........and now I don't have regular weekend visitors to feed I'm having to look at my shopping habits differently. But I'm finding that LESS is costing MORE! Let me explain with a few examples I found at a local supermarket;

Warburtons Medium Sliced Loaf

800g loaf....cost £1

400g loaf....cost 68p

Own brand tinned Baked beans

420g....25p

220g....20p

Nescafe Original Coffee

300g....£5.37

100g....£1.94

Chicken Breasts

pack of 2 Chicken breasts.......equates to £9.64 per kg

bulk pack chicken breasts.......equates to £5.00 per kg

WHOLE chicken.......................equates to £1.79 per kg

Well it doesn't take a degree in higher mathematics to work out that the BIGGER the pack of anything I buy the LESS per kilogram I'm paying; something that worked in my favour when there were more mouths to feed. ....................
but when you're on a limited income every penny counts. Now don't get me wrong, there are bargains to be had and own brand products are often cheaper...and I've got a freezer so it's no hassle to buy a whole chicken, joint it and freeze some...but wouldn't it be nice if sometimes instead of the "BOGOF" (buy one get one free) offers they could have some BUY HALF AND PAY HALF instead!.....after all have you ever tried to freeze a fresh banana...it's not the same when it's defrosted.....LOL

While we're on the subject of food...do you any vanilla pods or essence?.......quickly go and fetch it and while you're looking at the next photo and have a sniff .......................

Clematis Rubromarginata...........hundreds of tiny flowers and the most heavenly scent.

I love this time of year as hardly a day goes by without something coming into flower or bud. The Turks Cap Lily buds are really starting to turn yellow; won't be long before they're in flower.

My Rose of the moment....Rose Nostalgie.....I just love the colouring........................

the gladioli are starting to flower.......................... and so is the Echinacea...................

and my Blue Penstemon is coming to it's peak........................
Now what shall I have for breakfast?...................I think maybe I'll have a banana................

MY FAVOURITE RECIPE - A BLOGALONG POST

Although I make quite a few cakes I often don't actually eat many myself; this one I can't resist though, so I decided to make this my Blog-A-Long entry for June. The photo is of one I made myself last week.

300g fresh strawberries (halved or sliced)

140g amaretti biscuits, roughly broken

140g self-raising flour

85g ground almonds

3 eggs

175g caster sugar

175g soft butter

Clotted cream or creme fraiche

Preheat oven to fan140C/conventional160C/gas3.

Butter and line the base of a loose bottomed 20cm round cake tin.

Beat butter, sugar, eggs, flour and ground almonds together with a hand whisk or wooden spoon until well blended.

Spread half the mixture into the lined tin. Scatter over half the amaretti biscuits and a third of the strawberries. Very lightly press into the cake mixture.

Put spoonfuls of the remaining cake mixture on top, then top with the remaining amaretti biscuits and half the remaining fruit.

Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool for 15 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it, then turn it out.

Serve with the remaining strawberries and a hefty spoonful of clotted cream or creme fraiche.

I've found this recipe works well with all soft fruits. It has also frozen successfully. It will store in the fridge for a couple of days but is best served at room temperature.

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FANCY A CUPPA?

Quickly come on in out of that rain...can't believe you made the journey over here in this weather. The tea's poured so sit yourself down.


Try some of the cake I made for Manda or, if you're dieting, have some fresh fruit instead.


Isn't the weather dismal here at the moment. Mick & I spent a very brief spell out in the garden yesterday but we soon had to hightail it back inside.


It did give me a quick chance to take a look in the shed-cum-greenhouse. The cannas are looking ok...even a few new shoots coming up. I'll be bringing them inside as soon as I can wangle some space! We've four more pots like this and a trough of them.

I was happily surprised to see that the pelargonium cuttings (from last September) I'd left in there were actually alive. Usually I would have brought them indoors for the winter....that space problem again!. Even the mother plant in the basket is looking fair.






I tidied up the non-hardy Fuchsias. Just a case of clearing up any dead leaves and checking the roots to make sure no vine weevil had overwintered in there. All seemed ok and I gave them a little misting to help them start shooting. Once I'm sure they are alive I'll prune them back and give them some fresh compost. This one in the photo has already started putting out some new growth.






I also realised that although I'd seen to the hanging basket begonias I'd forgotten all about the pot ones. Even the corms of these are getting larger now. They are lovely plants and the flowers can be up to 6" across. I'll start these in a tray of compost until I decide which pots to put them in.







Outside the Euphorbia is starting to put on some colour







and the pink Dicentra is starting to come through, though no sign of the white one yet;






the Hyacinth buds are getting bigger








and the snowdrops are still doing well. This is actually a Hosta pot but snowdrops help to extend its seasonal colour.







This little chap passed us as he made his way towards the pond

These FRITILLARIA persica shoots have come up almost overnight. I'll be keeping a keen eye out for slugs and snails now.

Finally a glimpse of a crocus that isn't purple!






The Daphne odurata is coming into flower; just this single flower has the most glorious scent.

I really hope that next time you drop by the sun will be shining and we can dust the parasol off!

R.S.S.

I'm suffering from Repetitive Strain Syndrome at the moment. I've been trying to get round as many of the people as I can to thank them for commenting on the Clatterbridge Cancer Campaign. My wrists are really aching and I thought I'd better do this post before I went any further.

There is some astounding news re; the lychee nuts that I had started to try and germinate for the Greta Pip Challenge. This morning there is already a little root peeking out of one of them!!!

I think I'd better get a book on Bonsai growing as there is no way we have room for one this big!!!...though I'm sure they won't be hardy in England. I'd better check on that.

Being Shrove Tuesday I'm doing Apple Pancake for dessert tonight. And after doing all this blog racing around I think I need some good red meat so I think I'll have a RSS FEED of my own.

RUTH'S STEAK & SALAD

It's off to the kitchen for me; now where are those apples?

ICE and NICE

Very cold this morning...by my standards anyway. I say that because from some of the comments I get and during my Blogarounds I find so many places in the world that are -10 to -20! The sound of window scraping rang through the air as neighbours attempted to clear their windscreens before setting off to work
But as the sun rose the frost soon melted and indoors, "behind glass" our living room seems lovely and warm.Outside though, where our pond is in the shade, there is still a sign of the frozen water. I'm glad I've left the pump running and popped a spare cloche over one end I don't want our poor fish gasping for air!

I had a little Blogaround while Mick was having his after breakfast doze; visiting a few blogs of "new" commenters. I came across one that also had an art blog. Now I'm not particularly artistic as far as painting or drawing goes; but I do enjoy looking at other peoples works. My favourite well known artist is William Blake. Our friend Fran once gave me a booklet of Blake reproduction postcards....well I'm never going to have the real thing am I? Back to what I was saying; I found Salix Trees art blog. Her work is breathtaking and particularly appeals to me. I'll just show you one example here but please go and look at the others she has posted.

Isn't it beautiful? Her art blog is SALIX ART.

While I'm on the subject of art; if you haven't already seen it please check out my plea...Art, Art, Wherefore art thou Art

I did some cooking this morning; one way of warming up the kitchen! I had a jar of Strawberry and Champagne Conserve in the cupboard that we received in a hamper at Christmas. I thought I try some of it in the base of a Bakewell tart

It'll go down nicely at lunchtime.

I also potted up the ginger that had starting shooting for the PIP Challenge.

It's some way behind Libby's but I'm sure it will take off now it's in the daylight.

This is Libby's ginger; click on the photo to visit her Woodlands blog.