Twelve

A sunny start to the day. 

We have twelve for breakfast this morning at 9am, and the white one is back.

I will have to go to The Range to buy more bird seed. They do a big bag, 12.75kg, for £10. Also need to stock up on cat food, so that will be my afternoon job today. Now I get ready for Crafty Club. 

Have a good day. Toodle pip.   ilona

Quacking heck

They are back. The ducks have landed. 

I put out the left over cat food on the garden this morning. I wondered why the water bowls were filthy, who has been paddling in them. I have seen pigeons splashing about, but they usually come later to scoff the cat food. 

I spotted the culprits, hiding behind a bush. Two ducks have found their way back into the garden on the look out for food. I still have some wild bird seed left from last winter, so I threw a handful out. Then the invasion began, more ducks arrived. So, eight in total for breakfast this morning. 

Thank you for the comments on my artwork, which three shall I enter in the Open Art Exhibition. I will deliver them to 20 21 Art centre on Tuesday, for them to consider which of the three they want to put in the exhibition. It starts on November the 14th and runs through to February next year. 

I was out litter picking yesterday, on the Industrial Estate. Most of the leaves are on the ground now so it is quite difficult to find every bit of litter. A double deck load, with a lot of glass bottles. Now awaiting collection by the council at my usual dropping off litter bin. I found two black bin bags so I thought I might as well use them. My sticky labels tell them this is not fly tipping. 

I did a Billy dog walk when I came back. Good to see that carol is back from the hospital. I won't have to take Billy every day now, he is happy that his mummy is home. He can run about in the garden. 

The weekend is coming. Apparently we have a farm tractor run around the villages later today. They are due to come through our village about 3.30pm. If I miss that I can walk half a mile down the road and they will pass there about 6.40p. I will take my camera and see if I can get some photo's. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Ruffled feathers

 I've been out today, not litter picking. 😆 Gainsborough was my destination. Haven't been there for ages, thought I would take a look, have a wander around, take some photo's. I recorded a couple of videos as well. Will post about it tomorrow. 

In the meantime, here is a pigeon taking a bath on my back garden. It seemed to enjoy splashing about and washing under it's wings. The salad bowl I bought for £2 from a charity shop was a good buy. 

Two hedgehogs on the garden tonight. 

I'll be back tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

My hobbies

 Sunday morning. A bit dull and overcast, but there is every chance that it will brighten up. 

Yesterday I did some hard graft in the garden. Climbing ladders to lop a few feet off the tops of the hedge at the bottom end behind the Summerhouse. Good job I am small and agile. There's not much room to squeeze between the fence and the hedge. Filled the brown wheelie bin. 

After a sit down for lunch I was off out to check my patch for litter. There are a couple of badly littered places on the Industrial Estate. One good thing about using a car and a trolley is that I can target my picking to concentrate on the worst first. 

Oooooh look, I have found some pasta and tomato sauce for my dinner tonight. 😕😋😍

And a slug of milk circa July, to wash it down. Only two months out of date. 

Another bag added to my collection for this week. The Council keep taking them away. 👸

I am chuckling as I watch the page views rocket. When I write something a little bit controversial the number keep going up. It's heading for 700 views for the previous post. Thank you all for reading. Probably most of them are nasty trolls who keep coming back to check on any new developments.  👪👫👬👭👯

Now I must get breakfast. Toodle pip.   ilona

Cor blimey, that's a big one.

 I thought I might have a trip out somewhere today. The morning was a bit cool and overcast but never mind. It might brighten up later on. I needed to go to the Post Office in the next village to tax my car. Our pop up PO doesn't have the facilities to do that. I see the cost has crept up again, now £200 for the year. 

Then I called in at my garage. A warning light has come on, on the dash board. The man said, that's not a problem, you can still drive it. It's a busy garage, very popular locally, so the car is booked in for a diagnostics test in a weeks time. 

Then I went to the Farm Shop. They have been closed over the summer holidays, but are now open once again. The shelves are well stocked up and everything looks very tempting. I selected a few items I needed, preserves, honey, curds, bananas, eggs, mushrooms, and posh biscuits. £45 spent but worth it. 

On my way home the heavens opened and it hammered it down. I was stranded in my car when I got home so sat and listened to the radio as I waited for it to stop. Just as well I decided not to have a day out. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon sewing. The picture is nearer completion. 

Thinking about Cro's post about a paper bag which had instructions on how to open it, I came across this Kitkat bar with instructions on how to unwrap it. Good grief, how bonkers is that. 

Here's a conundrum. What sort of animal would leave a massive poo like this. That's two mornings I have found this on my back garden. I know my hedgehogs are big, but that big! I've just picked it up with a spoon and thrown it into the hedge bottom. Let's see if there is another one tomorrow. 

And for comparison. 

That's all for now. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Food glorious food.

 Start the day with a hearty breakfast. That's after the first coffee of course. Easy way to make breakfast, make two portions of stir fry the night before.  Eat one for dinner. Add an egg to the second portion for breakfast. 

Coffee Morning at the Club. I took this photo after everyone had helped themselves and filled their plate. I held back, don't like standing in a queue for my food. 

That will do me nicely. 

I spent the afternoon in the garden. Still got plenty to do. The hedge along the back needs serious pruning. The job entails squeezing me and a step ladder between the hedge and the fence. I do this once a year. I like to keep my hedge within the boundary of my garden. 

This evening I just had time to do a Billy walk before it started getting dark. I am not looking forward to shorter days. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona.  

Watch the birdies.

 I was quick to grab my camera when the birdies came down for a bath today. Lucky that I was sat at the back window doing a bit of sewing.  

I stayed in most of the day, it was baking hot again. I have been opening up the summer house. Mayze has taken to sleeping in there, during the day. It's still sweaty hot but she has found some shelter from the glaring sun. 

The heat was getting to me, so I gave myself a haircut. That's better. I went a bit mad and chopped a lot off. 

At 5pm I decided it was cool enough to go out and check on the fly tip I reported. It is still there, not been collected by the Council yet. I had a scout round Flixborough Industrial Estate, and was pleased to see that this area has been completely cleared of brambles and rubbish. I spent ages picking litter here. I see that there is a sign at the main gate saying it is available for sale or to rent. There might be some offers forth coming now that it has been tidied up. 

While I was there I decided to fill a red bag. Still plenty of litter lying around. I deposited it at my usual place. I might go and add some more to it if the weather starts to cool down. 

Did you see the sunset tonight. It was a stunner. I resisted the urge to rush out with my camera for a better view. 

I thought I might go out this weekend, but with it being so hot I might stay nearer to home. 

Have a good one. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Conclusions

Oh boy, it's been hot again today. I started work in the garden a bit earlier than usual, to do some hedge trimming along the back hedge. It has gotten a bit out of control and I need to keep the height down. Two step ladders, shears, secateurs, and loppers were needed to attack it. The sun comes up behind it, so if I start early I can do it in the shade. 

After several breaks of sitting down indoors for ten minutes, I eventually had to stop. It became too hot as the sun came round overhead and to the side. Time to retreat indoors at 3pm. Then I had plan 'B'. Go to The Range and get the cat food. On the way there I came across this fly tip. Now I've got to put a report on the Council web site. 

I knocked up this video this morning. 

Not everything you see or hear on the internet is truthful and honest. There is a lot of fearmongering going on. It's up to you to sort out what you believe and what you don't. Some of it will be true, but there is a lot of theatre going on. A lot of drama. A lot of trickery. Calm down, take your time to digest everything and come to your own conclusions.

Now I am tired. I will continue in the garden tomorrow. For now I am going to get a mug of Horlicks. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Dead end road

Litter picking is easy when you know where to look. This is one of my regular spots. A short piece of dead end road to nowhere. Youngsters come here at night, sit on that concrete beam, swig their beer, and drop their cans behind it. I come along with my stick and pull them out. It's quiet, no traffic, just a few pedestrians, cyclists and scooters. 

One very full bag, one carrier bag of glass bottles, a nearly new wheel trim and half a broken one. And an empty plastic container that used to have ad blue in it. All left at my usual litter bin awaiting collection. I am pleased to say that all my previous bags have been collected. 

I did a Billy dog walk tonight. It's difficult to get him to pose for the camera. I bribed him with a treat for this one. 

Then he had a pee. 

It's been windy and muggy hot today. This weather is baffling me. The heat is wearing me out. We desperately need some rain. 

A nice surprise on the garden tonight. I counted seven hedgehogs. I saw two babies eating together from the same pile of food. I think word has got around and they are bringing their mates. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

Digging and green soup

Good morning. 

A mini garden makeover yesterday. I have four raised beds at the bottom of the garden. Built by me, with second hand bricks. I used to grow veg, but with the slug problem I decided to plant them out with a variety of non edible greenery. 

They need a bit of re arranging, due to some of the plants looking scruffy. So I attacked this bed to dig out the dead leaves and twigs and pull up the roots. The plan was to move some of the plants from pots and transplant them here. Can't leave it like this, the cats will think it is a new litter box. By this time my back was getting a bit sore so I needed a quicker solution to fill the space. 

 Cue fanfare. 👸👩💁😻🙋 The crew that put a new roof on the house left me with six tiles. Perfect, I can use them to cover up the soil for now, and arrange a few pots on top. I might transplant the plants at a later date, or then I might not. It looks pretty much ok to me. A quick solution. 

Then I made a pan of soup. Chop up some broccoli, some leek, top with spinach. Add garlic granules, and some chutney. Stir in a spoonful of yogurt. 

On the gas hob for a few minutes, smash to smithereens with the stick blender. Eat straight out of the pan, with a slice of bread. Very tasty it was too. 

Did you see that mass invasion which is going on somewhere between Morocco and Spain I think. Good grief, that looks scary. I have to say that I think they won't stop at Spain. Destination UK, land of milk and honey and lots of freebies. 

Sunny today. Maybe I will go out. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Result !

 Good evening. 

Some good news. After putting in a second report to the Council about the horrendous dead animal fly tipping, and then ringing them up this morning to verbally report it, I'm pleased to say that it has now been cleared away. 

I went to town this afternoon to visit the Arts Centre, then pick up some supplies from Aldi, and when passing the said layby, I stopped to check. Yep, all gone. The stink was still there though. It needs a good dose of disinfectant. I think I spooked the woman at the Council a bit when I said it could be human remains in the bags, and would need a police investigation. She left me hanging on the phone for a few minutes, no doubt to speak to her superiors. When she came back she said she had reported it as an emergency, and a crew would be dispatched immediately.  RESULT. 😆😁😂 Just tell it like it is. 

A bit of a drama in Aldi this afternoon. I had gone through the checkouts and was packing my shopping into my bags, when there was a scuffle at the self scan checkouts. I looked up to see a young man dash towards the door. He had long black dreadlocks down his back. Am I allowed to say he looked like a Rastafarian. Know what I mean. 😜 He had tried to grab something from a shelf and leg it without paying. A quick thinking member of staff manage to scupper his plan, and he ran for the door. Once outside he disappeared through the car park. Nobody chased him because he hadn't managed to steal anything. 

Be alert at all times when you are out and about. 

I wanted to do an hours litter picking but it was too hot. As I passed my drop off point I was pleased to see that my two bags from yesterday had been collected. 

A baby hedgehog has appeared in the garden. I saw it yesterday and it has been again tonight. It didn't move for a while but when I dropped a handful of food right in front of it's nose it began to eat. It has had a drink of water, but I need to put a shallow bowl out because it's little legs can't reach into the bigger bowls. 

Thanks for popping in. Thanks for your comments. Toodle pip.   ilona

Hedgie watching

Good evening. A late post tonight. I've been on hedgehog watch. 

I almost tripped over a hog tonight. I was in and out of the backdoor with my watering can. One of them came right up to the door and was half hidden under a small bush. I saw it just in time. 

I put the food down in set places so they know where to find it. They usually freeze if they are aware that someone is close by. I sneak up on it and put a handful of food just in front of it. Then it starts eating it. Tonight a second one arrived and joined in. 

I won a set of four solar light flowers in the raffle this morning. Added them to the metal flowers. It looks lovely. See little hedgie having a drink. 

Mayze on her mat over on the seating area. One hog went up close to her, she never bothered. It's starting to get dark now so the pictures aren't so good. No flash used, the camera adjusts itself as the light begins to fade. 

Two more underneath the table. 

I tried to get a group shot but they keep moving about. 

I'm so pleased they keep coming back. If they stay in my back garden and only wander into the gardens either side and at the back, they might have a good chance of surviving. 

See ya tomorrow. Goodnight.   ilona

The Army have arrived

 Another hot day today. Got my shorts out for the first time this year. I had a walk to the Park and took my picking stick and a carrier bag with me. It was full by the time I got there. Emptied it in the big bin. 

I timed it so that I arrived later in the afternoon. There was an Armed Forces Show on which I am not interested in. I stayed an hour or so to tidy up. There wasn't a lot of litter as there are a lot of bins to cope with it when it's busy. 

Two early hedgies turned up together last night, and shared a pile of food. I sat outside until late and watched several more coming and going.  

Now I must go outside and water up all the pots. It hasn't rained for two days so they will be ready for a drink. 

Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.   ilona

Garden - Litter pick - food.

It's been a dodge the rain day today. We have had some heavy showers. 

This is my wild flower meadow. You've heard of No Mow May, well this is No Mow May June July August September and October. No need to mow it, just let it do it's thing. 

These flowers keep appearing every year, in all kinds of inconvenient places. This is supposed to be a concrete driveway, but it has lots of cracks in it, which is where these plants push through. I kind of like them so I'll wait until they die off before I pull them up. 

I needed to do some shopping at Aldi this afternoon, so I stopped by the Industrial Estate on the way there, and picked a bag of litter. Might as well. I was disappointed to see that the Council have not collected my other bags. My three bags are now four. I checked the other litter bins around the pond and see that they have not been emptied. If they haven't been done by Friday I will go and tidy the mess up.  

Luckily I managed to dodge the rain while picking, but I got stranded inside Aldi. Oh wow, did it hammer it down. 

Dinner tonight was an omelette. No it's not burnt. I put left over chips in it, and chopped beetroot. Added garlic and onion chutney for flavour. I start it off in a pan, and finish it off under the grill. It was chuffin lovely. 

That's all for now. Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Hall Farm - The Gardens

I think this has been the hottest day so far this weekend. I have been out to the Lincolnshire Showground for the Disabled Dog Walk, led by Tammie and Pumpkin the Wheelie Westie. It was chuffing brilliant. Lots of pictures to come here on the blog for that in the next day or two. 

Back to yesterday at Hall Farm Gardens. at Harpswell. Not the village, but across the fields at the farm. 

You can have a game of chess if you like. All set up and ready to go. 

Rustic features are left in situ. 

There are gravelly paths to meander through. Lots of varieties of plants and trees for the avid gardener to discover. 

This is a wrought iron gate which is weathered and blends in with the surrounding foliage. 

See if you can spot the sculptures. You can't miss this giant dragon. 

Plants of every description skillfully positioned to compliment those around it. 

Follow me around the garden.

I will split the Hall Farm into three posts, so come back for the Lake and the Workshops. 

Here is a link to their web site if you want to check out their opening times. 

Enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday. Toodle pip.   ilona