As summer ends I find myself jealously collecting in the fruits of all our labours in the garden for the winter. All my saved seed has been decanted into envelopes and labelled (hopefully correctly) and the summer’s dried flowers and herbs are sorted, tied and (mostly) bagged. It is, therefore, finally possible to walk acrossContinue reading “As ye reap..”
Category Archives: country life
The Dog Days are over
Since coming back from Glenelg we have been gently crisping. The Dog Days of Summer had definitely arrived and the heat has been intense, settling on the garden like a lambent halo by mid morning and intensifying relentlessly to a late afternoon inferno. With the help of mum and auntie Lois we managed (just) someContinue reading “The Dog Days are over”
Corran and the drove road
On Sunday, we decided to retrospectively justify the night before’s dinner at the Pub with a walk up the glen from Corran, with the objective of following the river as far as we could go leaving enough time get back in time for last cake orders at Sheena’s Tea Hut. The drive up to CorranContinue reading “Corran and the drove road”
Unspooling
We have been in Glenelg for four days now and the threads that bind me to things to do have unravelled into a tangled heap on the bedroom floor alongside the running kit and crumpled shorts I pull on most days. The carefully curated holiday wardrobe lies tidily in the drawers and seems likely toContinue reading “Unspooling”
About time
I’ve never got to grips with relativity (the scientific type, not the study of second cousins – in which I am well versed). I abandoned physics shortly after the ticker tape machine because I hankered after Art. Consequently, I have no sensible explanation for why time speeds up, seemingly exponentially, mid June. One minute thereContinue reading “About time”
Summer’s survivors
I’ve had a few days out and about on wildlife patrol with Lyra, now freed from the post op “no scratchy” T shirt, recently (ably assisted by Keith and Mum, respectively, as side kicks) so thought I’d submit my late summer report. The heat of the last few days has turned the wheat to gold,Continue reading “Summer’s survivors”
Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot
The last few days have been mighty fierce indeed. No sooner had I thrown off the remaining post viral lethargy than a whole new ambient temperature related lethargy arrived. I have spent the last three days reading yet more books (having finished all the Mick Herron spy books (quite funny, but read them now asContinue reading “Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot”
It’s all gone Pete Tong
Where to begin….. We set off for the Isle of Wight primped and prepped. Our little party was staying at the Grand, where an ongoing ambience of being in the middle of a Hercule Poirot adventure coexisted slightly uneasily, but in a good way, with the breakfast mix tape of 70s funk classics. The weddingContinue reading “It’s all gone Pete Tong”
Open season is closed (for a bit)
Finally, or at least for a month, we have the garden to ourselves and license to ignore it or appreciate it from a sedentary position, as the mood takes us. The annual garden open day took place last Sunday, on the coldest and windiest (but thankfully not rainiest) day for ages. The cohort of stalwartContinue reading “Open season is closed (for a bit)”
The midsummer narrows
We hurtled to midsummer this year and nature has been running ahead of us all the way, reclaiming its territory. In the Hirsel woods the paths between the ferns have dwindled to the narrowest strip, brambles swarming across, ready to tug at unwary ankles. In places, the nettles have reached shoulder height. Mum and IContinue reading “The midsummer narrows”