Oh my :o)

Good morning!

I had a lovely surprise this morning when I read my emails, Patty Pan at Tarragon & Thyme has honoured me with a 'Sunshine' award.  Thank you so much Patty Pan, I really appreciate it :o))

As a recipient I have to thank the person who has nominated me... See above.

Answer the following questions about my favourite things:

1.  My favourite animal.  That's easy cats, large or small.  Though hedgehogs are a very close second!

2.  Favourite number.  11.

3.  Non alcoholic drink.  Diet coke.  Oh! what WAS I thinking..Assam Tea is my favourite drink!

4.  Facebook or Twitter.  Facebook, but incognito as I ONLY use it to keep in touch with my daughter.

5.  My Passions.  Wildlife and Nature, closely followed by the 'collecting' bug.

6.  Receiving/giving gifts.  Giving.

7.  Favourite Pattern.  This was a difficult one as I don't sew, so I choose the design for Hedgehog Houses :o)

8.  Favourite day.  Wednesday, a day I sometimes share with a very dear friend.

9.  Flower/flowers.  Roses, foxgloves, poppies.  In fact all cottage garden flowers.

10.  Favourite country.  England.  I worked as a travel agent for over 4 years and NEVER had the slightest inclination to holiday abroad!  (Yes, I'm a little strange ;o)

Now I need to nominate 5 or 10 blogs to pass on the award to, and let them know they're nominated.  This is difficult, I read and follow so many lovely blogs.  If I miss you it's not because I don't think you deserve this award.

1.  Liz at Shortbread and Ginger

2.  Leanne at Tales of Simple Days

3.  M at Vintage Jane

4. Keshling at Keshling pulls it off

5.  Lucey at Lemonade Kitty 

6.  Kirsty at Sixty-one A

7.  Mary at A Breath of Fresh Air

8.  Charlotte at A Cottage in Totterage

9.  Lottie, Millie, Hamish,Catkin and Scooter at Isn't it dinnertime yet?

10.  Dan at Frogs, Dogs and Ferns

These blogs make me smile :o))

See you all soon, have fun!

Updates and a few lucky finds.

Hi there folks.  Hope the weather has been better than here....I'm truly fed-up of the rain :o(

I thought I'd start off by thanking you for such lovely comments, I really do appreciate them.

The hedgehogs are still visiting the garden and filling up on free food, and the little field mice are still here too despite Sid's best efforts.

I went out with my friend Ann for lunch on Wednesday to a garden centre and a small craft centre (Sorry, I've been a naughty blogger - no photos of the garden centre or the crafts, though there was only one outlet open that day.)  But on the way back through Cannock Chase we looked for deer. 

Managed to get a few photos through the car windows of some young roe deer on the outskirts of 'the Chase', if you look closely at the background you can see how near to the houses they were.

Ain't they cute?

Hubby and I have been looking out for a smallish dining table for the garden, and a few weeks ago I passed a restaurant that had closed down to be 'converted' to a Bistro.  They'd placed a chunky, solid pine dining table outside with a notice on saying they'd more inside For Sale.  Of course they were closed at the time, so I made a note of the phone number to give them a ring later.  I tried for a couple of days with no luck and thought I'd give them one last try, this time they replied.  I asked if they still had the tables, he said yes, how many did I want?  Just one I replied!   How much are they?  He told me that they had fifteen 3' square ones and just one that was 4ft 6 by 3 ft, the smaller ones were £15 and the largest £20.  We went along and immediately paid for the largest table.  Hubby dismantled it to get it in the car and I chatted to the new owners, they asked if I wanted any artwork from a pile in the corner as it was all bound for the dump.  Obviously I went through it ;o) and chose four pieces for the frames :o)
Then I noticed a small occasional table under one of the other dining ones, it's 15" high and the top 10" x 12" - just what I've been looking for as an occasional table to pop next to a seat when serving drinks or snacks, when I asked if it was for sale they told me to take it free of charge!  Sorry, no pictures of the large table yet as it's still dismantled in the garage awaiting some decent weather to be sanded down, the frames are now in the loft - I forgot to photograph them, but here's the small table.  Still cannot decide weather to paint it or not though, but it's been really useful already :o)

It slides neatly under the coffee table out of the way, made to measure in fact. 

Then, on my usual visits to the local charity shops I found a few things.

First there was this paperweight - by now you know I'm a sucker for a nice paperweight!

3" diameter, the colour doesn't show too well here, but it's centre is mostly amethyst glass.

I visited Newport, Shropshire a few weeks ago, one of my favourite haunts and not surprisingly went into the charity shops there, and there IS quite a few!  I found this box there, it's contents caught my eye immediately.

THE most gorgeous 'ginko leaf' trivet!

It was from 'Oxfam' and as you probably know they are very price savvy, so when I saw the £8 price tag I winced and looked around the shop a little more.  Then I realised that I had NEVER seen anything like it before and it was unlikely I'd see one again.  'Nuff said, it came home with me :o)

Then, last Thursday I went to my 'local' and saw this...

It's missing the lid, and I really cannot decide weather it's old or not, but it's hand painted with lovely, pretty flowers.

It is a (Victorian style) toothbrush holder, but I guess it'll be just go on on the desk as a pretty pen dish.  £1.

This is the backstamp, and I've seen it before but cannot find anything about it, anyone know?

Lastly, some weeks ago I found this cream corseted bodice, obviously it was made for a bride.

It is encrusted back and front in pearl and crystal beading,

all hand done.

Isn't it gorgeous?  It's actually large enough to fit me!

(Though I doubt I'd ever wear it) 

The cost?  Well, when it was new I'm quite certain it would have been a few hundred pounds, but the price tag said £4.  I just couldn't leave it there. 

 I've carefully washed it and now I'll store it in acid free paper.

Well, this has been a bit of a mixed bag.  Hope you found something you liked too.

See you all soon, and hopefully the rain will stay away for a week (or two)!

Best wishes to all.

For dear Dad..

I wanted to make a post in memory of my Dad for fathers day.

Here he is dressed as a pirate for a carnival float way back in the 50's, my favourite photo of him!

He was a kind, gentle loving Dad that I could talk to about anything.  He died in 1995 aged 73 years, much too soon.  I miss him every day....

Where ever you are Dad, I love you.

xxx

Who'd a thought...

I'd miss you all SO much?

Happy to say that wonderful hubby ordered a new screen and fitted it, so I'm back to play :o)

Where to begin? 
How about Hedgehogs?

We're still seeing dear little May most evenings, along with three or four others.  I decided to check all the boxes yesterday (Sunday), so carefully lifted the lid on the new one (No.3) first.  I saw a few droppings and (even more) carefully lifted the hay and low and behold was AMAZED to find not one, but TWO sleeping hogs :o))

I'm presuming that they must be juvenile females as I'm fairly certain that two males wouldn't live in harmony together.

Then I checked No.1 and again was amazed as Wilf has vacated and the box was empty.  Then finally I checked No. 2, this was empty too, so Winifred has trundled off too.  I'm sure they've probably moved on as the bedding was sure to be stale after having little hogs in there for at least six months.  I've taken the opportunity to thoroughly clean them out, and sterilised them with my hand held steamer.  Then have filled them again with some nice fresh, sweet smelling hay, and left them all ready to take in more prickly guests!

* * *

Now, on to other things...

I use pure cotton bedding, and prefer to use old cotton 'twill' sheets, they're not easy to come across and the ones I've been using for some years are starting to get worn.  Where to get replacements from?  Then, whilst ironing I remembered that when My Aunt died about four years ago I had 'rescued' a brand new pair from the charity shop pile!  I found them out and unpacked them, and was delighted to find they are still in perfect condition.  So I washed them to get the stiffening out, and added them to the ironing pile.  I would not be able to afford such good quality sheet today - that's IF I could find one that would even come near.

The wrapping certainly dates them though...

Then, I read the guarantee, that certainly made me SMILE :o))

No. 3 did it! 

"Fold them evenly before they go through the wringer."  Tee-hee.

If I have a problem rest assured I will write telling the year they were purchased - do you think they'd honour the guarantee?  Good old Osman sheets :o)

* * *

Our dear daughter Vicky came home for a visit over the Jubilee bank holiday , it's the first time she's been 'home' since Christmas and it was so lovely to spend some quality time together :o)  On Monday we went to a local car boot sale,  not surprisingly we both 'found' a few things.

Firstly, I saw an old 4oz glass Bovril bottle for 50p,

  Then I found this miniature wood whittling set for 75p (I quite fancy having a go at this!)
It contains a tiny knife, wood and sandpaper.

  Then there was the 'scissor pendant' 20p which I think will look quite sweet hung up with a tiny posy in,
a ' BBC Springwatch' book that I'll enjoy when I have a few quiet moments and lastly,

but certainly NOT least a pair of Spode like Blue Italian door knobs for £2.50.  I don't have a use in mind yet, but I'm certain they'll 'come in' for a project :o)

* * *

Dear Vicky also had a look at my old electric sewing machine (she is an excellent seamstress) which has been a complete pain in the butt by knotting up underneath for ages, and try as I may I couldn't solve the problem :o(  She switched on, put in a bobbin and it worked PERFECTLY!  I told her I'd even checked I'd put the bobbin in the right way as shown in the manual...when we looked it said to place it in anti-clockwise, which I did.  Vicky had put it in clockwise and it worked???  I've had the flamin' thing for over 30 years without a hitch.  Well, happily I can now turn up a pair of curtains and maybe have a go at a few sewing project I've been meaning to try.

* * *
Then, lastly you'll be pleased to read ;o) I have a few charity shop finds..

There's two silk handbags, one gold and one black measuring about 14" x 8" x 2" that were £1 each :o))

A trinket box which is 2" square and 1" deep covered in dear little bunnies £1

Then, finally a lovely cream ware pierced heart tea light holder for just 75p.

I'd like to give a sincere thank you for all the lovely messages I received whilst I was 'off air' I REALLY have appreciated them :o)

Signing off wishing you all the best, have a great week.

Whoops!

Hello there, just a quickie I'm afraid. 
Thought I'd better let you know that due to me knocking off my laptop and then spilling tea all over it in an attempt to catch it I'm off the air until I can either get it repaired or replaced :o(((  So I'll be snatching what little time I can to catch up.  Hope I'm up and running SOON.

Best wishes,

Rose H

Oh my goodness - it's HOT!!!

Hello folks, hope you are all well and enjoying the HOT weather!  Reaching 30C/86F today.
  I'm NOT moaning, but I'm afraid it really doesn't suit me to be too hot, and I've had a few 'off' days but I'm back to full health again now.

Well, where do I begin?   I think it's best to start with dear little May.

  She has decided that the new Hog Hilton is not to her liking (!?) and has not moved in.  To say I'm disappointed is an understatement, though I've now hung a small 'To Let' sign up near the door and am waiting to interview prospective tenants ;o)

Could this be the tenant?  A 'stranger' feeding it's face :o)

Though May has not moved in she is a nightly visitor and I know that all must be well with her - and that's fine by me.  She has however proved to be very wary of that big ol' human being who snatched her away for a few days and it's been quite difficult to get a photo of her.  Here's one of the few I have managed to snap at the side of our little pond.

She was off like a shot as soon as the flash went off!

(I'm so glad I put that white mark on her)

I've seen Mork and Mindy's 'Mom' and we agree there's a conspiracy afoot as neither of them have 'moved in' either, though she too knows they are well and visiting regularly

Our fieldmice are still in the drystone wall, and whilst looking for May the other evening I managed to spot a tiny one (just about 1.5") out looking for food, so camera and torch in hand I sat on the bench to wait patiently for a shot of two...and the results :o)

You can see how small it is - just compare him to the ivy leaves, sunflower hearts and sultanas.

Though Sid is still hoping for a snack,  they have all been safe (so far) 

Yesterday, my friends Sandy, Ann and I went on the organised 'Forage' at Gleanings rural study centre (the same place that we went to basket weave).

The view that I forgot last time!

Taken with my 'wide angle' lens.

Quite a large group turned out and the forage started at around 2.15pm in the most awful heat with little shade and hardly a breath of wind.  We were situated at the top of the valley and were told that we'd make our way down the valley, to the little stream then,  along the stream banks and back up through woodland finally returning to The Gleanings to cook and eat the collected results.

We went through the 'goat' field pictured above and loosely followed the tyre tracks to the far gate, then walked along the left hand field line down the very steep valley.  Over a stile and 'mountaineered' down to the stream side.  (It was at this point I was very thankful to have had the foresight and had taken a walking stick along!)

Here is a photo of Rob Rowe, our group leader discussing the finer points of a flower - the name of which escapes me....something and cream rings a bell.

The meadow (and the rest of their smallholding - roughly 14 acres) was truly wonderful and is registered with the country stewardship scheme.  It has had no pesticides used for 10+ years.  (Though they are not registered as 'organic' as this scheme costs too much money for a small holder to join) 

As we reached the bottom of this meadow there was a bank of bluebells.

Photo's are more than a little scarce (read none) for the rest of our 'ramble' due to the STEEPNESS of the landscape!  I was much too busy trying not to land on my ass to stop and take more snaps.

Rob picked, talked and walked us down along the stream where there were tiny little 'froglets' in the grass that we were careful to avoid treading on.  The heat was sapping my strength, and most of us had to take a break or two along the way.  I have to say that I was finding it very hard to concentrate on all the information we were being given, and I was praying hoping that the woodland walk wouldn't be SO steep for the return.

Amongst the edible 'finds' were wild angelica, chickweed, dock, pig nuts, dandelion, sorrel, violets, fat hen, goosegrass, ground elder, hogweed and rose bay willow herb.

We then started back over another stile into the lovely woodland which is on the far left of the first photo.  I can honestly say that it was by far the steepest part of the journey.  We (my friends and I) left the others and started the l o n g, hot climb and after many rest stops finally came out again into meadowland - PHEW!  All I wanted to do was sit in the shade with a nice cool drink, foraging was by now far from my thoughts.  We waited for the rest of the group to appear, they had a further field to investigate so we decided to make our own way back to Gleanings HQ via a shaded leafy 'green' lane to the roadway.  We got back at around 4 pm, hot, exhausted and worn out.   John (bless him) plied us with long cool glasses of cordial, which we drank sitting in the glorious shade of a birch tree.

The others eventually arrived with their booty, the fire was lit (!) and Rob cooked some of the food - battered the hogweed, which I found totally tasteless, woody and decidedly awful, and steamed rose bay willow herb tops, which were nice, but I'm sure the addition of a little salt and melted butter would have risen them to much greater heights.  There was also a salad of foraged leaves to tuck into, this I have to say would have been tastier with only a squeeze of lemon juice!

We made our way gingerly back to the (thankfully air-conditioned) car to wend our way home.  As we were by this time hungry we decided to stop at a carvery and had a delicious roast beef dinner :o))

My honest opinion of the day?

It was lovely to spend time with dear friends.

Did I enjoy the 'Forage'? 

Mmm, truthfully no, not really.  I (we) felt the group was too large and could have been better organised.  It would have been improved if we had either given sheets with say 20-25 plants to find, or alternatively Rob had already covered the ground and planted stakes in the relevant places.

For me, as you have already guessed it was TOO HOT, and I found concentrating on my foothold was much more important than seeking plants to eat.  If I had to rely upon this method of gathering food for sustenance I believe I would certainly be half the person I am ;o) 

Would I do it again?

Mmm, the jury is out on that.  I'd really like to go on a Fungi Forage in the Autumn, and I know they hold one very locally at Cannock Chase each year. 

I hope I haven't bored you to death as this seems rather a LONG post?

Keep well, keep cool!

May and friends.

Good evening everyone, hope you've all had a good day.  I certainly have :o)

Here, as promised are pictures of Mays new home, I cut all the wood and assembled about 95% of it myself.

Inside view from the back.

The strange 'box' affair is the internal tunnel that prevents dog and foxes from accessing the hog. 

I only had  plywood available to make the tunnel, and despite sanding and sanding it the edges were still very rough.  I was concerned the little hog may injure her face or eye and decided to cover the rough edges with good old duct tape for safety. ( I will put a link to plans for a hedgehog house on the hog page)

We hope May likes it enough to move in permanently...

First thing this morning I went out to place Mays new home in the garden, here is the spot I'd chosen for her.

The shrub is a mock orange that I planted last year.  The rocks to the left are at the back of the waterfall, and it looks like the fence is broken where daylight is showing, but this is a 4" gap that I dug out so that the hogs can visit next doors garden with ease!   On the far right of this picture past the end of the fence is the pathway that gives access to our front doors.

The view from the pathway, (the drystone wall is where the field mice live.)

I pulled the mock orange away from the fence and levelled the ground and placed some bricks to raise the box off the soil, then 'installed' it into place.

I even added a log door step for her!  Then I made the nesting area for her with nice fresh hay

And waited patiently until the time arrived to collect May from the Hedgehog Rescue.

When I arrive there another couple pulled up at the same time, I'm sorry to say that I cannot remember their names, but the lady and I recognised each other, she owns the sweetest gift shop in the Village!  I often gaze longingly into the windows at the amazing window displays.  (I do buy things as well.)

Anyway, I digress.  They had come to collect two hogs that have been with the rescue centre since the winter that were bought in underweight, believe me they certainly are not underweight now!

But first of all Joan fetched her tame little hog that she will keep as it is not suitable for release as it is far too tame.  He was found during last Winter in a cellar beneath a house, weak, starving and totally dehydrated trying to eat a shoe.  Joan really didn't think it would make it through the night, but treated it with saline, cooked, minced chicken and drugs. She even got up at 5 AM to check up on it.  He amazed her by eating and drinking.   He went on from strength to strength and making a total recovery.  She named him Celly because of where he was found.  He rarely curls up and is decidedly content to be held and stroked!  Joan takes him with her to schools and other places she gives talks on hedgehogs.

We all took turns in giving him a cuddle :o))

Joan then bought in their little girl hog, she was so cute and huge.  I grabbed a photo of her, but must apologise as it's certainly NOT the best I've ever taken...

next came the young man that is going to live with them....

He was too cute for words.  Then I discovered their new names

Mork and Mindy!  (Those of a certain age will certainly remember them ;o)

Then of course it was time to get May.  She is certainly back to full health.

Aaah, ain't she sweet?

I drove home cautiously down the back lanes, and to my utter delight saw a large hare.  When I arrived home May was bright eyed at the carrier door looking around.  I explained gently to her all about her new home should she decide to stay.  When darkness fell I took her to the new box and placed her gently into the hay,  covering her up and replaced the lid, wishing her well.

Note the white spot I applied to her spines so that I can identify her easily.

I used a water based emulsion paint that should not harm her.

Within about fifteen minutes of leaving her she made her way out to investigate.

As you can see she will be easy to 'spot'!  I made sure that I put a supply of meal worms, sultanas, sunflower hearts, crushed peanuts and water readily available right on the doorstep.

(I had washed down the garden bench this after noon to remove the bird droppings, but it looks like they've decided to visit again...)

May was last seen going under the fence into next doors garden, I'll just keep my fingers crossed that she makes her way back to the snug, warm home that's awaiting her.

Wishing you all a peaceful night.

Goodnight.

 

  

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