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These are some of the views from the patio that we enjoyed this morning whilst drinking our morning coffee.
I was in and out of New Milton today. This morning Jackie drove me to Barclays bank to attend to some executor business, and this afternoon to Birchfield Dental Practice for an appointment with the hygienist. After the second trip we travelled on to East End to see how the thatching was coming along.
It is now a beautiful job nearing completion, demonstrating painstaking skill and artistry.
Dave had finished for the day when we arrived,
and had left his tools firmly in place for continuing tomorrow.
Back home one of the clematises in the front garden now curls over the ceramic house sign;
the paler pink ramblers romp over the trellis;
and the darker ones beribbon the porch roof.
One of our sparrow families, carefully disconnecting it first, has made use of a rather obsolete rusted burglar alarm. They had more success than I did dismantling one back in Soho. That adventure is recounted in my post ‘A Little White Lie’.
The evening light on the patio gave us different views including Marie Boisselot,
and the red Japanese maple.
We were also treated to an avian orgy involving four wood pigeons. One by one these birds alighted on the cypress branch, formed a disorderly melee, and engaged in frantic flapping. There was no billing and cooing and It was all over rather too quickly for comfort.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s piquant cauliflower cheese, fish pie, runner beans, carrots, and asparagus. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I consumed more of the cabernet sauvignon.
Love the romp of the pink rambler and the darker rambler beribboning… try saying that 8 times after several cabernet sauvignons!
🙂 Thanks a lot, Bruce
You did a good job of shooting the little melee on the cedar branch Derrick! My guess is one pair wanted to bill and coo there and the other pair had the same idea. Result – chaos! I think your wood pigeons must be smaller than our kereru. Put four of them on a branch and it would break! 🙂 I have very much enjoyed watching the progress of the thatching. I’ve never seen such beautiful ridging before and have learnt much about the art. Thank you! <3
Very many thanks, Pauline. A fun and welcome comment
LOL – I zoomed in before I understood what I was looking at and then felt rather bad for intruding.
The Culinary Queen – love it!! I really do enjoy getting to view your garden from every which way. You guys would have loved this: surrounding neighborhoods and ours belong to a website where members can sell things, give items away or give out information that is pertinent to where we live. Anyways about one months ago someone was redesigning their backyard gardens and gave away (for free) about a ton or stone, flagstone, brick pavers, etc. I can tell you within the hour every ounce was gone!! Jackie would have had a field day with all that for the gardens.
She certainly would, Mary. In fact, the bricks with which Aaron paved the Rose Garden came from just such a local website. Thanks very much.
Your garden is so lovely Derrick. But an avian orgy puts a new and interesting spin on it. 🙂
Very many thanks, Miriam.
A refreshment for my eyes and mind, as ever–the garden exhibits such lush growth already! (Never have heard of “avian orgies”, ha!– but I suppose there could be a whole peculiar nature story to make of it!)
Be my guest with the story, Cynthia. 🙂 Many thanks.
So, bird-brained sparrows are better with burglar alarms than you are? Did you mean to admit that?
It just slipped out, Quercus. I wish you well today – although when you read this it will be yesterday.
Ha! I will be posting about today later…
The thatching is so beautiful. It’s been so interesting to see its progress. I always wondered how it was done. And of course, your garden is a created paradise. Always lovely to see. Paradeisos (no Greek letters available) does in fact, simply mean garden (or animal park, and yours is that as well, if the pigeons are an indication).
Thanks a lot, Lisa. We do also have neighbours’ cats and rats 🙂
” the darker ones beribbon the porch roof.” I do love your way with words, Derrick.
Many thanks, Jodie. It is good to receive such feedback
; )
your garden is just magnificent ! Congratulations to all the gardeners ! It is always good to see the progress on the thatching.
Many thanks, Sylvie
I like your article, very inspiring and thank you for your post
Thank you, Jual
Wonderful watching thatch being done.
Thanks very much, Peggy
The thatching job seems so special. I fear it may be a tad fragile for all that pain. The bit about brief avian orgy is amusing. As they say, best things in life are fleetingly short.
Many thanks, Uma. I had to look back at the post to see what you meant by the pain. Very good 🙂
I love your lines about how the ramblers romp and beribbon. And the flowers are lovely.
You have wonderful views for your morning and evening meals. It’s pouring rain here this morning.
No chance of seeing any avian orgies here today. 😉
Enjoy touring your garden, Derrick.Nice captures of the four wood pigeons.
clematises curl over the ceramic house sign is just beautiful!
Many thanks, Amy
Lovely, as always, and never a dull moment with avian hanky-panky. It goes on at the little house in the big woods, too 😉
🙂 Many thanks, Laurie
Laurie above is funny: “never a dull moment with avian hanky-panky.” hahaha. Lovely photos, Derrick, but it just goes to show that you needed a bird to help you dismantle an alarm. This morning my gardener discovered that Perry, our half-feral foster cat, had eaten the tag off the lamp electrical cord, so I unplugged the lamp to be on the safe side. Don’t these animals know not to mess with electricity?
Clearly not, Luanne. Thanks a lot.
The garden looks amazing and fully in bloom! Those tricky birds know how to disconnect a rusted burglar alarm!? So funny, Derrick!
Here without reading your orgy comment, I thought it was a mother and her teenager birds having a disagreement! Lol 😀
So glad I read your writing before I went on about disrespect crosses from human beings to another species. . .
Thanks very much, Robin
Beautiful blooming garden, Derrick! Yes, avian orgies are quite dangerous with all the peckers — I mean, pecking. 😉
Very good, Rose. I toyed with the idea of entitling the post ‘Flappers’ Orgy’. Thanks.
😀 😀 😀
.. but not quickly enough for Mrs Wood Pigeon I imagine.
I haven’t made a fish pie for yonks, perhaps the War Office would enjoy one for a change, I’ll think about suggesting it to her! 🙂
Thanks a lot, Brian
Enterprising sparrows, making use of the old burglar alarm. 🙂