A few days in the forest

We've been back home a couple of days but I had a very pressing engagement with the sewing machine which took priority over blogging (actually, over almost everything).  However, that particular task has been completed (phew, great relief) and I can now download the holiday photos.

We had another lovely break in the New Forest, it really is such a beautiful area with so much to see and do.  The weather was kind to us - it was dry - so we spent all our time outside.  We had some good walks with lots to see and thoroughly enjoyed our day at the New Forest Show.  Goodness, it's big!  Just so much to see and do.  Despite my very good intentions of taking in the craft tents and other exhibitions, we spent most of the day watching the heavy horses, Pony Club games, the cattle, the chickens (oh so nearly bought a hen-house!) and a glorious display by the Household Cavalry.  We managed to pop into the horticultural tent - those were some mighty big vegetables on display! - and pick up a few ideas for the garden, and saw some beautiful examples of fine woodcraft, and N was very taken with the tractors - he wants one!  But there was lots we didn't see so we will just have to go back next year, and possibly the year after that, too.  An excellent day out.

The wildlife in the Forest is one of the attractions for us, and we were delighted to see deer, squirrels (grey, not red), and had a very close encounter indeed with a huge highland cow who simply appeared out of the bracken and ambled by just a few feet away from where we had sat down to eat our lunch.  It was the most bizarre experience, and one which still brings a big smile to our faces as we recollect it, although it was a slightly disconcerting interruption at the time ;-))  We spent ages watching buzzards high in the trees, having been alerted by their distinctive cries, and were entranced by some stunningly beautiful damsel flies by the river.  It never fails to amaze me what is there to be seen if you just stop and listen and watch.  

A few days away and our batteries have been recharged.  It was lovely to have the opportunity to slow down and regroup.  Just as well, really, as the next few weeks are quite busy with lots of comings and goings, things to remember and places to go.  And new people to meet :)))

An early morning walk in the woods

An early start today to take the car in for it's MOT.  Rather than hanging around the garage waiting, we took ourselves off for a walk through the woods.  It was such a lovely way to spend an hour, quiet and reflective.  

We spotted a greenfinch on the telegraph wires, and then watched a couple of swallows skimming across the field.  We've been watching 'Springwatch' each evening for the past couple of weeks, and there was a piece on the programme a few days ago about how to differentiate between swallows, swifts and housemartins, and that was how we identified these swallows, by the low flight across fields as they hunted for insects.  We were quite pleased with ourselves!  As the birds turned in flight, we caught sight of their forked tails and white underbody so we were certain of our identification.

On our return home, I dug out our little book of wild flowers (excellent charity shop find at Christmas) to identify this plant:

 

It is the Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) which was growing along the paths in the woods.  My knowledge of wild flowers is sadly limited, so I am keen to learn a few more.

We've had another productive day in the garden, moving veg bags around, tying up trailing plants and potting up some annuals I sowed from seed in early Spring.  We're on the look-out for the sweetcorn, but it's a bit difficult to tell seedlings from weeds!

Getting colder

We're fitting comfortably back into our quiet, simple life here.  Washing on the line (it does come in cold but at least it's had a good flap around in the fresh air), knitting (another pair of fingerless gloves), cooking (salmon cakes with chips, all homemade and very delicious) and two or three DIY jobs and general sorting out and tidying up tasks tackled to boot.  Every little job done has a purpose in the bigger picture, and gives us a feeling of satisfaction - that we have been able to do these things ourselves, and that it brings a little more order.  There are many things we have little or no control over, and often we just have to go with the flow and see where we end up, but we are happy to take responsibility for as much as we can.

It was certainly cold today.  N is really struggling with the colder temperatures this year and it seems to be aggravating his asthma, which is a little worrying.  Consequently we are using our heating sensibly and wisely.  If we are cold, the heating will go on.  We don't run it all day, not do we have the thermostat set too high (being in an over-warm house is just as uncomfortable as being cold).  We read the meters so we have a good idea of our consumption.  This is the first winter in this house and we are learning what is needed to make it comfortable in the colder months.  The property was empty for several months before we bought it and there were one or two signs of damp.  Added to that the fact that we had a lot of plastering done during the renovation, and it is likely that there is still some residual dampness in the fabric.  The heating will help tackle this but we will keep an eye on things as we don't want damp to become a problem.  

Whilst we were in Manchester, we were treated to a private wildlife show from the lounge window.  A grey squirrel burying nuts in the back lawn:

Compared to our little red squirrels here on the Island, these greys seem so much bigger

and a family of jays also visiting for nuts and seeds.  We don't get to see these lovely birds very often as they are quite elusive so it was quite a treat to see them so close.

 We also spotted a bullfinch and a nuthatch, too brief for a photo but a pleasure to see nevertheless.

Along the shore

Another lovely and productive day.  Cleaning, painting, odd pottering-DIY sort of jobs done.  A bit of reading and a bit of sewing (or unpicking, strictly speaking) thrown in for good measure.

We took ourselves off for a walk along the shore this afternoon, making the most of the late autumn sunshine.  The tide was out leaving some very 'spongy' seaweed - just as well we wore boots!  A bit of rock-clambering was involved, and trying to avoid some rather slimey, slippery green stuff but all good fun and worth it just to be out in the fresh sea air, listening to the call of the oyster-catchers.

We were surprised to find several quite large jelly-fish washed up along the shore.  There's something rather unreal about these creatures.

Just to the right of the jelly-fish is a 50p piece, for size comparison

Out path back took us through woods, and we were delighted to spot a little red squirrel in the foliage above us.  

He looked at us, and we stared right back at him!  It is always magical to see these creatures so close to.

The bird-table made by GS and grand-dad has been standing in the garden for several days, with a dish of tempting assorted seeds.  Late this afternoon we spied our first diner - a wood pigeon, of course, but welcome nonetheless.

And I had to record this rather bizarre scene that greeted me when I pulled the curtains this morning.

We seem to be on the flight path for many planes as we see their vapour trails on a regular basis.  The trails are, without fail, straight.  Not this one!  It looked for all the world like a giant 'question mark' in the sky.  Perhaps the pilot was wondering where he was supposed to be going!

Progress in the hall, and an evening walk around the block

Some of the garlic we harvested a few weeks ago.  The four cloves surrounding the egg are Elephant Garlic - they are huge!

We're making good progress with the hallway.  It's surprising just how much can be achieved in two or three hours each day.  And with all the woodwork having at least an undercoat, and several door frames now with a top-coat as well, the area looks so much brighter.  Amazing what a bit of white paint does.

Although the lighting doesn't show it very well, the woodwork (before) has yellowed badly over the years

And after - brilliant white woodwork makes so much difference

  N has started putting the lining paper up and it's good to see all the old paint and marks disappearing beneath it.  The transformation has begun and it is spurring us on.

We had another lovely evening walk this week, this time along the bridleways and footpaths that surround the local area. 

Baby robin (on the right) being fed a juicy worm by one of it's parents.  It must be still quite young - no sign at all of any red feathers yet.

 We were amazed at what there is to see on our doorstep.

Plenty of blackberries already but they were a little sharp still!

Not sure who was watching who!

We also watched a buzzard circling overhead and a pair of pheasants in a field.  From the highest point on our walk we had a great view over the Solent to the Spinnaker Tower at Portsmouth.  So much to see and enjoy.

Painting!

Finally, after days spent taking things to pieces, ripping stuff out, creating mess and chaos, we have at last got to a point where we could actually start on something constructive.  

I have painted a window sill.

Granted, it was only undercoat but still, it's a step in the right direction.  It's pleased us no end.

Radiators in need of a good clean

On the back of one rad, N found this stamp - we already knew the house was built in 1979 so the radiators have seen 35 years' service.  

We've also taken advantage of the radiators being off the walls (the heating engineers need to drain and flush them through) to paint the walls behind them - it's always the trickiest bit to decorate if the radiators are in place.  Just a couple of coats of white emulsion but it's one more little job to tick off the list.  N has done sterling work cleaning all the radiators; front, back and between the panels.  They look much better for a bit of soapy water.

Gradually covering the pink!

We've got the bathroom tiles sorted - much easier than we thought; we both picked the same tile immediately we saw it, something of a result.  The coving proved a bit of a bonus, too.  The pack was 3.6 metres in length, way too long to fit in the car but we noticed that some of the pieces were damaged so we approached a salesman and suggested we take the damaged goods off his hands for half the marked price (don't get if you don't ask!).  A deal was done, we took the pack into the carpark and N proceeded to cut the lengths at the damaged point and lo and behold, they fitted into the car perfectly!  

We are both terribly weary, we don't mind admitting.  But little by little, ever so gradually, we feel we are turning the corner.  We hope to get stuck into some serious painting this week, the boiler/central heating will have been finished and work on the bathroom begun.  It's beginning to take shape.

And guess who turned up this morning?

Ambling along the path in the back garden was none other than Harry the hedgehog (short for Hieronymus, N tells me - he's a fan of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch novels).  It could of course be Hilda or Hetty but I think we'll stick with Harry until proved otherwise.

We're rather thrilled to have our own hedgehog.

Late autumn in Manchester

We've returned from our visit 'up north', catching up with family - in fact, we managed to see all the immediate family this time and it was lovely to meet up with them and hear all their news.

So, a few quick photos of what we did:

A visit to Manchester at this time of the year is never complete without a trip to the Christmas Market, which wends its way through the main squares and streets of the city.  It's always bustling, and there's plenty to see, eat and drink!  The mulled wine (or Gluhwein) with a little tot of something extra was very warming indeed!   

I always visit a fantastic fabric and craft shop when I'm in Manchester, and finally struck lucky with some fabric to finish the 30th birthday quilt.  Abakhan has a wonderful selection of fabric for all sorts of dressmaking and crafts and I could very easily have bought yards for various projects.  However, I've already got so many projects either on the go or waiting to be started, that buying yet more yardage would have overwhelmed me.  Sensible head ruled, for once.  There's always the next visit ;-)

We had a wander through the shopping centre (looking that is, not buying) and a bit of a crowd in a book shop attracted our attention.  Edging a little closer, we spotted none other than Mark Cavendish, cyclist extrordinaire, signing books.  Couldn't resist a quick snap.

The weather held up well for us, and we had a lovely walk through Heaton Park.  We climbed up to the commemorative stone which marks the visit in 1982 of Pope John Paul II:

There are so far-reaching views from the top across to the Pennines in the distance:

and we were enchanted by this little fellow, who was keen to take advantage of a few peanuts to stash away for winter:

 

The grey squirrel is larger than the red squirrel which we have on the Island; I hope he can remember where he hid his secret food reserves in amongst all these leaves!

A break in Manchester

Walking along the pier to catch the ferry, the sun just caught two of the forts in the Solent (it was quite early in the morning!)

We've returned from our short break in Manchester, and have brought FIL back with us to give him a little holiday on the island.  

We managed to get out and about in between rain showers (a bit of a feature in Manchester) including a day out in York.  I've not visited there before, and I would love to spend longer another time.  It's full of wonderful quaint lanes with wonderful interesting little shops, and lots of tea rooms serving very nice cakes!

York Minster

Beautiful row of half-timbered Tudor buildings

The view down Shambles - the houses look as though they are leaning towards each other

We went for a couple of nice walks through Heaton Park, one of the largest areas of parkland in the country, and spotted this little chap beside the path, obviously quite used to people.

We travelled back home yesterday, and by the evening two loads of washing had been hung to dry in the shed.  The lettuce was looking a little wilted so it must have been quite dry here.  N and FIL had a dead-heading session this morning and the garden looks a bit better for a little TLC.

This afternoon we drove to Cowes with the intention of parking up and walking along the front to watch the yachts racing in the Cowes Week regatta.  Well, that was the plan.  Unfortunately it seemed everyone has the same idea - I have never seen it so busy, and there was simply nowhere to park at all.  It was a little disappointing as it is always exciting to watch the racing.  However, we had a detour on the way home, and stopped off the see the remains of the PS Ryde, a much-loved, but now sadly neglected and rusting hulk of a paddle-steamer that used to ply the local waters.

Many residents remember the days when the Ryde was used as a floating disco!  There have been several attempts to raise funds to salvage her but to no avail.   It is so sad to see her in this state, and it is only a matter of time before she disintegrates completely.

This evening we glimpsed the Red Arrows performing their breath-taking air display in the skies above Cowes - from time to time we saw the coloured vapour trails and caught sight of them in various formations.

Vapour tails in the sky show where the Red Arrows had been - the planes were just too quick for me to get a photo of them!