Category: Pic of the week

Pic of the week 15/10/23

For the first time in about 20 years, I went to a barber of Friday.

Di has had a new hip so is currently out of action, and I have been growing my hair a bit longer, looking for a new style. For the last week or two it has begun to annoy me – a shapeless nest atop of my head, nut after my trip to the barber I’m happy again after he has given it some shape and style.

I’ve also had a busy couple of days in the garden ( we broke for half term on Friday. On Friday it poured with rain – really poured, Sophie had a nightmare journey home from London due to flooding in Swindon, eventually getting back to Cardiff at around midnight – Saturday and today (Sunday) have been quite bright and sunny, but cold, much colder than before. A bit of a shock going from unseasonably warm to a cold (albeit normal) autumn day)

I have taken out the sunflowers from the front bed and planted it up with tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths. Also planted up several pots with daffodils and several others (9) with about 5 allium bulbs. Looking forward to spring already …!

And I harvested my pumpkin:

This year it weighed in at 4.2kg, with a circumference of 71 cms, so a little smaller than last years effort, but an impressive pumpkin – good shape and colour – non-the-less.

Still seems a lot to do in the garden it doesn’t seem like its fully ready to be put to bed for the winter just yet. Still have several sunflowers “shinning” in the back garden, and the cosmos plants that took so long to flower are now producing a vibrant pink and magenta display. Am going to try overwintering a few geraniums to see how that goes.

Pic of the week 8/10/23

October, the August we never had?

Its been unseasonably warm this weekend (and not too bad in the days leading up to fin de semana) with today being particularly glorious, a day in which we could sit outside and bask in the sun this afternoon.  I would suggest that temperatures have been in the low to mid-twenties.

This morning I was told to tackle the ivy by the bin – I was going to just give it a bit of a haircut, but Becky wanted more off so I gave it a good pull and it all just peeled off.

A quick trip to the tip and it was disposed off.

It has been lovely to have some warm weather – and on the weekend too – it certainly doesn’t feel like early to mid- October and a week to half-term. The garden is still very much in full growth, although I know I will have to start tidying it up over half term as this autumn sunshine can’t continue and winter will be coming.

I have been particularly pleased this year with the grasses that I planted last year at the back of the garden – the have given height and interest over the summer and in the last week or so have sprouted wonderful purple seed hands that wallow in the wind.

The sunflowers continue to provide a burst of colour, with new flowers still to come in the back. I’m still disappointed about the August we had, but October is proving a bonus.

Pic of the week 1/10/23

This has been a busy, busy week at work, but one always gets through it, and by Friday things were calming down and I was able to take a breath. I have been quite dedicated to my Spanish learning (I have been following 1001 Reasons to Learn Spanish) and doing twenty or thirty minutes each night has kept me grounded and proved to be a good distraction from work.

It has been a pleasantly warm weekend, with today in particular being sunny and you could certainly feel the warmth when outside – got me thinking of (looking forward to) our upcoming trip to Barcelona, Blanes and Girona in only two and half weeks. Although (or perhaps because) he estado muy ocupado, the term is passing muy rapido and its hard to believe its only two weeks until half term.

Today I planted a load of bulbs into the lawn – some daffs (I think!) and alliums saved from the pots earlier in the year. I used the drill bit auger I had purchased a few months ago – a great bit of kit that made this task so much easier. Hopefully the results will be reaped come spring.

(The pic of the week is Becky’s Kingsfisher that she finally got to shoot on Saturday whilst walking the Bath skyline with Jo.)

An additional pic of the week 24/9/23

After a blisteringly hot start to September, followed by a very wet couple of weeks, today I cut back the lawn.  Began with my strimmer – fortunately had got most if it done before there was an audible “pop”, a flash of flame followed by smoke as I burnt out the motor.  I had done enough to allow me to finish the job with the lawnmower.

Looks quite neat now – such that I wonder why I didn’t cut it sooner! – but I think it is the change that makes it appealing. I have enjoyed the long grass and a few wildflowers (would love to see more wildflowers take hold) and the habitat it has provided for the insects.

Next job (next week?) is to plant the bulbs from last years pots into the lawn ready for next spring.

Pic of the week 17/9/23

After a couple of unseasonably warm and sunny weeks, this weekend saw the wind and rain arrive that probably herald the onset of autumn. Today has been particularly wet (although managed to run before the rains arrived at circa 10.30 am) and all next week rain is forecast. Trees are beginning to turn and, although the temperatures are holding up, I think that summer has finally fled.

We’ve had a fleeting visit from Sam – he came on on Thursday and returns to Cardiff later today (and he went to Bristol on Friday afternoon returning Saturday evening, before heading straight out to Wells …!) and it has been nice to see him, looking well, and still not started on his second year at uni.

A couple of poppies have bloomed in my “wildflower” lawn – not sure if they are the ones I sowed earlier in the year, or from the wildflower seeds Becky and Sam sowed, but I’m pleased they’ve flowered, and hopefully will expand in numbers in future years.

And in the same patch we’ve got some “strange” mini-pumpkin like growths: a couple of ghost pumpkins I think, and some smaller yellowish pumpkins. These are self-seeded from when I spread some soil from my compost heap on this patch of the lawn. And one of the pumpkins I did grow from seed is swelling nicely on the lawn.

And the sunflowers continue to shine!  We still have a few more set to open, bringing a ray of sunshine to set against ever darkening skies.

Pic of the week 20/8/23

Although not wall to wall sunshine, we have had some usable weather this  week and I’ve been busy cutting things back in the garden. On Wednesday, this meant the front hedge had its annual trim and, once again it looks neat and square.  As ever, a lot had to come off and whilst up the ladders I noticed that there were several strong saplings penetrating the canopy so I had to crawl “inside” the hedge and and cut them back. Once done, I was able to climb to the top of the hedge from the inside, using the trunk of one of the two trees that make up the hedge.

On Tuessday I gave the windows a wash – I had been washing the 205 in preparation of giving it a polish using Mequires polish to bring the paintwork paint to life – which it did.  On Thursday, I gave the bonnet a spray with paint – Bleu D’Arabie, code PL3A – and although it needs another coat (I ran out!) it does look so much better now the rusty bonnet has been painted.

On Friday I went to see my third film of the summer – Oppenheimer – a good film, but at three hours, forty minutes too long. Not sure I also followed all the ins and outs of the “trial” of the senator either.  Needed a lot of intellectual investment in the film. Good, but not as good as Barbie or Indiana Jones (which was a bit silly, but a lot of fun!)