Fungi Foraging Again

Wednesday 31st August 2011

Another grim day weather wise yesterday with fairly steady rain setting in mid-afternoon, despite the fact that it was supposed to be grey but dry all week. In consequence I don't have that much to blog about, don't worry though, as of next week I'll be so busy again you wont be able to shut me up! Chaos still reigns at home with the teenagers stuff all over the house, but at least the end is in sight with the bed and carpet arriving next Mon/Tues and I have finished the painting thank goodness.

Another good day for fungi foraging though,

Pics-stump bell caps, a lovely speckled quince, crested coral fungus.

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Autumnal Feel

Tuesday 30th August 2011

I've known much nicer weather in October than the last few days of our supposedly glorious British summer. When I got up first thing yesterday morning the Internet was down, so abandoning any attempts at blogging I stole an hour in the garden before the rest of the household were up. I soon retreated back inside for a body-warmer as the wind was really chilly, but quickly forgot about it when I started to pot up my foxglove seedlings, I will not be short of them next year and am still hoping for some self sown ones too. Next I planted the sweet Williams in two large pots with allium bulbs underneath, I think it will make a good arrangement. The wallflowers are not ready yet and look like they have been nibbled by slugs, but they may well improve as I've moved them somewhere more sheltered. The garden is looking and feeling distinctly autumnal already but I'm hoping we may get an Indian summer as soon as the kids go back, until then I'll just have to content myself with looking at these sunny rudbekias.

"When summer gathers up her robes of glory and like a dream glides away"

Sarah Helen Whitman

Animated Teenager

Monday 29th August 2011

The word holiday seems to have two different meanings in this household. For the children for example, it means six long weeks of eating more than usual, wearing more clothes than usual and demanding more money than usual, all in return for doing basically nothing, and in the sons case bringing hoards of friends round so I have to act as doorman all day! On the other hand for any adult stupid enough not to be elsewhere it means triple housework duties and redecoration of the teenagers bedroom, (I confess it was my idea!). To give the teenager some due however she has helped with the painting and done a good job, showing more animation in the last two days than the whole of the prevoius six months! We are now on the countdown to the return to school and normality for the next three months, until Christmas rears its ugly head again!

No time for much gardening obviously but saw this strawberry tree yesterday and also these oak apples.

"Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years"

Anon

Other Side Of The Fence

Friday 26th August 2011

Not a lots been happening today so I'll just ramble on about a few things I've noticed this week. I'm particularly pleased with the appearance of these self sown lobelia in my wall garden, I just know that I couldn't grow these from seed if I tried so it's a good job they are happy to do it themselves. Anything that seeds itself for free is welcome in my garden even some of the weeds! Finally for today, it is a source of great irritation that out of all the plants I've grown from seed this year the ones that have done the best are always the ones I've given away. I know that my growing conditions are not ideal and I intend to remedy that by putting raised beds in for next year, and I acknowledge that my gifted seedlings have been housed in richer more spacious ground, but it still smarts when everyone else is groaning under copious amounts of squash and courgettes when mine seem able only to produce male flowers! Another good case in point is the chilli plant I gave to Diana, it is now sitting smugly in her greenhouse producing amazing looking fruit, whilst mine languish outside looking miserable. I never thought I would desire a greenhouse over a downstairs loo! Oh well they say we shall get our rewards in heaven!

"Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower"

Anon

A Fruity Sort Of Day

Thursday 25th August 2011

Diana takes her role of unofficial horticulture tutor very seriously I'm glad to say, as when I stepped foot into the garden for the first time in three weeks she was ready with a real hands on lesson. As promised we spent the next four hours "budding", that is carefully cutting a bud from a budstick of the tree you wish to reproduce. In this case we worked with two cherries, Summer Sun and Stella. Then we made a t-cut on the bark of the root stocks Gisela 5 and Colt carefully peeling back the rind to reveal the cambrian layer and gently eased the bud into the incision . Next we taped around the bud so it was secure and finally finished with a good coating of grafting wax, this stops the moisture from evaporating from the wound so aiding the bud to take. All we have to do now is wait for spring to see if it has worked! After a break for lunch at which we ate fresh figs from the greenhouse (delicious), we set to and summer pruned the cordoned apples and pears. All in all a most productive, informative and enjoyable day.

Pics-grafting tools, a closer look and the finished product.

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree"

Martin Luther

Typical Family Morning

Wednesday 24th August 2011

Sometimes I wish I didn't have so many people to be responsible for, take Tuesday morning for instance, I'm sat at the kitchen table in my dressing gown having just completed the morning blog, and tidying up a few bills and e-mails. The son appears

"Can Mat come round"

"No it's only 8.30 and the teenager is still in bed and I'm not dressed yet"

"Can he come round at 9.00?"

"N0, we've already discussed having Bilton youth club in the house when Dave is trying to work"

"Oh yeah"

Two nano seconds later he's dressed and out of the door, no breakfast and probably no underwear either knowing him! Bliss think I, a chance to have a shower in peace, no matter how I time it the son always has urgent business with me the moment I get wet. Ten minutes later and I've just emerged and am wrapping a towel around me when Dave hands me the phone,

"Hello"

"Sniff sniff"

"Is that you George?"

"I've cut my hand"

"Sigh, come straight home then"(oh god please let it not be another trip to A&E)

Hurriedly threw some clothes on and went downstairs to find the son sitting in the kitchen dripping blood and tears. Luckily it wasn't bad enough for hospital so a patch up with the first aid kit did the job. I looked at the clock, it was only 9.00am. Set off with Chum for our walk, who as soon as possible found the smelliest pile of fox pooh for miles around and enthusiastically rolled in it-great. Homeward bound stinky dog in tow I was startled by the sudden appearance of Peter the famous Bilton peacock, there really is never a dull moment around here! By the time I got home it was 11.00am,where does the day go? On the plus side I did see some great fungi again, they are a lovely shade of blue that doesn't really show up very clearly on the photo, they are called aniseed funnel caps.

"It's easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities"

Josiah Charles Stamp

All Hands On Deck

Tuesday 23rd August 2011

Back at Tate house yesterday after what seemed like ages and actually was when you take into account the holiday and the car breaking down etc. Anyway it was good to be back and plunged headlong into preparations for the official opening of the sensory courtyard by the mayor of Harrogate on September 3rd. Nick and I got stuck into the veg patch, weeding and clearing out anything that had gone to seed, we also got rid of most of the cauliflowers which are perhaps the only things that have failed to grow well. Next we potted up all the strawberry runners, we may not have had an abundance of fruit this year, but as you can see there is plenty of potential for next years crop! Meanwhile Lynne, Madhu and Stewart concentrated on perking up the courtyard, removing the alyssum and replacing it with more houseleeks and some pretty violas. Even the residents are hard at work making this beautiful sunshine mosaic which will be the centrepiece of the sensory courtyard, Margery and Dorothy are making good progress, keep it up ladies! Fingers crossed everything will be ready in time.

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit"

Nelson Henderson

Bump!

Monday 22nd August 2011

Back down to earth with a bump for the adults at least this weekend, not the children though who melted away like magic when the unpacking and chores started! Saturday consisted of shopping, picking up various small creatures from pet hotels and washing, washing, washing. When all that was finished I had to tackle the garden, in retrospect I probably should have scythed the lawn rather than attempt to cut it with the little hand-push, but I got there in the end! Next I had to bite the bullet and cut the hedge which I should have done before we went away, so that was also a bit of a monster job. There are still so many things that require my attention but so little time left to do them all, I hope things will settle down once the children are back in school. Sunday morning saw Chum and I resume our usual walking route, giving Dave a chance to catch up with "space invaders" before we had to go out for lunch with Aunty Dot over for a visit from Oz. It's amazing just how much has changed down the gorge in the two weeks since I was last there. Mother Nature is producing fruit, seeds and fungi faster than I can record then now, but here are a few pics of the best, Wild cyclamen, not very common so I was lucky to to spot these, little wheel fungus, very small and beautiful so the pic is not mine! Interesting oak gall caused by a tiny boring wasp.

"While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease"

Genesis 8:22

Back to Blighty

Thursday 18th August 2011

As this is our last day in Portugal it seems like a good time to reflect upon the holiday as we contemplate returning to lush green wet old Blighty. I haven't visited Portugal before but can honestly say nearly everything about the country gets a thumbs up from all of us. The climate is perfect, clear blue skies and sunny days with a slight breeze that gives refreshment just when you need it. No nasty beasties, we haven't been bitten by or indeed seen anything of concern. The Portugese people are so wholeheartedly friendly, kind and considerate that it makes me wonder why Britain has had such a love affair with Spain for so long, and on a personal note the fauna has more than lived up to expectations. So well done Portugal and thanks for having us, we will be back, but for now we are ready to take up the challenges of family life again which entail changes for all of us. The teenager is starting GCSE's, the son begins secondary school and I'm starting college and begining another round of decorating-must be mad! The blog will be back on Monday 22nd.

"Where we love is home. Home that our feet may leave but not our hearts"

Oliver Wendall Holmes

On The Beach

Wednesday 17th August 2011

We actually made it to the beach yesterday, we found a good base in a cafe where those who wished could venture onto the sand and dip their toes into the sea. In the end it was only the son and myself who did, the teenager declaring that sand brought her out in a rash and could someone possibly shut those damn cicadas up! So we collected a few shells and retreated back to the bar because the heat was pretty relentless, it was more relaxing just to sit and watch the world go by. Took a picture of this beautiful flower but I've no idea what it is called, the plants here are certainly unusual and striking, also noticed this ipomea which far and away outstrips the ones I grow at home. Just two more days left before we must return home, I'd stay much longer if we could send the children back on their own!

"There is indeed perhaps no better way to hold communion with the sea than sitting in the sun on the veranda of a fisherman's cafe"

Joseph W Beach

PS it is called a bird of paradise flower!

Fabulous Food

Tuesday 16th August 2011

Last night we found a good restaurant and had a meal that we all enjoyed, that is no mean feat for a family as gastronomically challenged as we are. Barnards which describes its menu as international cuisine with a difference turned out to be a bit of a life saver in more ways than one. Dave left us enjoying our first drink whilst he went to the cash point to replenish our money, the restaurant doesn't take cards, only to return looking crestfallen having visited three banks only to find them all empty. We had failed to realise it was a bank holiday. No problem said the charming owner Geraldine, just pay me tomorrow! They willingly cooked chicken goujons (nuggets) for the teenager, prawns for Dave, swordfish for the boy and steak with a Yorkshire pudding (joy) for me, all accompanied by fresh vegetables (a rarity here), saute potatoes and homemade bread, clear plates all round, delicious. We have decided to eat there again on our last night.

Pics- just a couple of unrelated snaps, a typical rooftop and I think the plant is a datura.

"Hunger is the best sauce in the world"

Cervantes

Creeping Thyme

Monday 15th August 2011

I can't believe we've been here for a week already, each day passes slowly and indolently around the pool compared with the frantic pace of life back home, but it is just an illusion of slowness. We must make the most of our remaining days here with more of the same! What I have appreciated the most has been the chance to read, something I have neglected to do whilst studying, I had forgotten just how relaxing it can be in its own right. I can thoroughly recommend Edmund De Waal's The Hare With The Amber Eyes (one for your book club Mum) and am also enjoying Bill Bryson's At Home which is a potted history of all things domestic.

Pics-I'd like some of this creeping thyme in my wall garden back home and am quite pleased with the pun! Finally managed to capture a snap of a lizard, they are all very fast but this one seemed inclined to oblige.

"Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book"

Anon

The Only Gay In The Village

Friday 12th August 2011

whether you are at home or abroad every now and again you encounter a business run with real vision and passion, we found such a place here in Ferragudo yesterday evening. To be fair we had seen it the day before but due to liberal lubrication we felt it wise to postpone our visit until we could appreciate it fully! Anyway if you ever find yourself in this part of the world you must visit the art gallery Deja Vu run by Angelica Padua and Jerome Gay, it is stuffed with original and unusual works of art at affordable prices and all made by local artists. Check it out at facebook/dejavuferragudo. There is a small exhibition on view in the local square here too, I'm not sure quite what the significance of elephants is but they are rather good fun. I spotted this aeonium today, it must be very old to have grown so large, I'd like to have some at home but they are frost tender and so not hardy in our northern winters. Apologies for the scrappy post today, will try harder on Monday!

"Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one"

Stella Adler

Pool Day

Thursday 11th August 2011

I gather from the news that both the weather and events at home have been rather turbulent, whilst feeling concern for you all, the reverse is true here in Ferragudo. We spent a very lazy day basking around the pool yesterday and I especially enjoyed that unique holiday sensation of floating on a lilo in the pool, until the boy crept up on me and tipped me off of course. Meanwhile the teenager having applied full make up only ventured into the pool on the understanding that no one should get her hair wet, this was a red rag to a bull as far as the son was concerned, so you can imagine the rest! In the evening we ate in a charming restaurant down the back streets where we were entertained by a local musician, it was a lovely Portugese experience and a bit of an eye-opener for the kids who thought it wonderful. I will try and be a bit more plant oriented tomorrow but I am here for a break after all!

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air"

Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Good Start

Wednesday 10th August 2011

Well we made it in one piece and without incident for once! The flight was lovely and smooth and the children were beautifully behaved, son reading quietly and the teenager too tired to complain much. The only flaw was our seating companion who by chance happened to meet an old public school chum, both were heavily encrusted with diamonds the size of walnuts and proceeded to list their accumulated assets since school days. These included ponies, places abroad and regular exotic holidays, all the while ignoring their own badly behaved brats with whom they had declined to sit. Still it is a thankfully short flight to Faro so I managed to grit my teeth and survive. Of course I suppose I'm just envious! We arrived and were greeted by a sleek air conditioned taxi complete with ice cold drinks, which delivered us to a modern apartment with much more room than our own humble abode. I think we are going to like it here, also the gardens have plenty to appreciate as you can see from this gorgeous hibiscus. More as the mood takes me!

"You who are ashamed of your poverty and blush for your calling are a snob, as are you who boast of your wealth"

William Makepeace Thackery

Off We Go!

Tuesday 9th August

Well here I am at 4.30am, this tells me I must be a serious blogger or at the very least a nutcase! Just too excited to sleep and up too early to cover all eventualities, thought I'd say good morning to you all. I'm showered, dressed and have already rescued a spider from the bath, so good deed for the day done I'm looking forward to some uneventful travel. See you in Portugal!

"Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind"

Seneca

Privet And Confidential On Tour

Monday 8th August 2011

The weather continues unsettled, cool and showery but we don't care! There will be no blog tomorrow because we are travelling to Ferragudo in Portugal for our holiday. I hope to keep you all up to date with our adventures, and will try and hunt down exciting new plants and creatures to show you. Due to the restrictions on luggage weight I have to limit myself to only two books, so have no room to take any reference material with me, so if I get stuck with identification I hope you will help me out? Don't expect any early morning posting though! Until Wednesday............

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching clouds float across the sky is hardly a waste of time"

John Lubbock

Typical Summer Weather

Friday 5th August 2011

I'm definitely ready for our break next week, I can tell that my brain function has reduced by at least half with the children at home. In their defence though they haven't been any trouble, it's just that the mess multiplies by four rather than two, which is rather like Chinese water torture for me with my hatred of all things house-work. Yesterday was the first really wet day we have had, I knew what the forecast was but hung the washing out anyway and gamely ventured out with dog and son in tow. We picked up auntie Fran, Laura and Paddy and were soon tramping merrily through the woods. Me toadstool hunting, Fran trying to calm an ever exuberant Paddy, Laura trying to avoid being bowled over, George talking non-stop x-box, Chumdog up to no good in general and Paddy BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! Then it started to rain heavily, so by the time we got home we were dripping, that meant muddy shoes, wet clothes and paw-prints all over the house, which is starting to look more like Stig of the Dumps cave everyday. I couldn't even escape into the garden, just had to sit in the kitchen contemplating the devastation and fighting that panicky feeling that accompanies the task of taking four people abroad for ten days. I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end!

"For the man sound in body and serene of mind there is no such thing as bad weather. Every day has it's beauty and storms which whip up the blood do but make it pulse more vigorously"

George Gissing

Lazy Day

Thursday 4th August 2011

Yesterday Diana and I were supposed to be having a field trip to Harewood House to learn how to bud fruit trees. It didn't happen though because Di isn't great in the heat, it has been very humid for quite a few days now, and it turns out neither are the fruit trees. Hilary from the Northern Fruit Group says the layers beneath the bark need to be moist if the bud is to have a chance of taking, and of course the weather has been too dry for that. Di says we will have a go ourselves later on in the month when there will probably be more moisture about, budding can only take place in August/September before it gets too cold for growth, so we will have to hurry up when I return from our hols. So in effect I spent a very lazy day with the teenager sunbathing in the garden, the son was attempting his first full 18 holes of golf and the sign which reads "George is out, don't knock, don't ring, thank-you",was firmly pinned to the front door, result-peace and quiet. We must encourage this golfing habit it lasts a lot longer than a game of football!

Gardening activities-strimmed and cut the lawn, picked and ate two cherry tomatoes, finish!

Pic- this lovely subtle lemon nasturtium arrived in the garden by chance, it was a hitch-hiker in a punnet of bedding plants, I think I like it better than all the rest.

"The time will come when winter will ask you what you were doing all summer"

Henry Clay

The Scooter

Wednesday 3rd August 2011

We haven't had a lot of luck with our transport arrangements lately and unfortunately this seems to have rubbed off on the boy whose scooter snapped clean in two during a high speed chase on Sunday. Luckily it only inflicted minor injuries and secretly I'm rather pleased as it means there will be no more trips to A&E before the holiday, however it is rather like taking the bat-mobile away from batman and the boys face has been rather long ever since. This is the conversation we has this morning,

"Can you make me some toast?"

"No, you are old enough to do that now"

"But I can't spread very well"

"Then the practice will help"

This was expertly parried by the classic

"Can I have some money?"

"No, remember the car etc etc"

"That's not fair, you gave the teenager some "

"If you had something specific to do I would reconsider"

"I do, I'm saving up"

That last innocent statement is the best way to get an unsuspecting parent to cough up twice, with all good intentions the son will save up for a couple of weeks before forgetting what he was saving up for and blowing the lot on sweets, meanwhile the object of desire has usually been provided! Anyway I don't have to be a mind reader to guess that a new scooter is on the cards. How many more weeks is it until they go back to school? Thank goodness I can escape for an hours peace with the dog every morning, noticed these lovely wild flowers today, common toadflax and devils bit scabious, very pretty.

"Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable"

Plato

Life Cycle

Tuesday 2nd August 2011

I always think that nature has a sense of urgency about it once we reach August. Unlike us humans who look forward to taking a breather this month, even the birds go very quiet, taking the opportunity to re-grow feathers after the rigours of parenthood. Plants on the other hand are at it full pelt, this is their moment, all of a sudden they start to display their wares, like the little piece of cake in Alice In Wonderland labelled EAT ME, they tempt us with bright and luscious fruit.Of course none of it is really for our benefit, all those wonderful colours are produced to ensure the success of the next generation, encouraging the birds and beasts to eat the fruit and distribute the seeds on their behalf. It makes you wonder just where we fit in amongst all the productive creatures who work towards the continuation of natures cycle, I think in order to justify our existence we should perhaps all plant a garden.

"I believe there is a subtle magnetism in nature, which if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright"

Henry David Thoreau

Frazzled

Monday 1st August 2011

Today I feel a bit frayed around the edges, just when I thought I was winning the war on organisation for the holidays, disaster has struck. The car broke down on Skipton road (why do these things always happen on the busiest road?) and the AA man reckons we need a new clutch amongst other things. Oh joy, that's going to cost a three figure sum to add to the price of new school uniform, the holiday spending money and my RHS course fees. Not to mention the stress of re-arranging all the carefully made plans for last minute shopping and having the children home for the summer wanting lifts to Timbuktu and back again every five seconds. I'll just have to dig my superwoman hat out of retirement again! Irritation continues in the garden, my French beans have given a handful of excellent tasting beans and then promptly died, the peppers are the size of marbles and the cabbage white butterflies have found the sprouts. Surely I'll have better luck next year when I'm not growing in pots. Dave and I have had to have the optimism talk again, so looking on the bright side at least I'm getting some lovely tomatoes!

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty"

Winston Churchill