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Although I didn’t have to grapple with the mortgage issue until late this afternoon, I’ll deal with it first to get it out of the way. The latest nonsense is that, after almost a month of procrastination and prevarication on behalf of the solicitors in the case, we learned two days ago that one of our documents must be signed in face to face contact with a solicitor acceptable to the lender. The firm that the building society originally approved is in Manchester. We were not prepared to travel up there for a ten minute encounter. Our independent adviser found one in Southampton who withdrew today on the grounds of sickness. Jackie and I will have to trail around tomorrow to find another prepared to witness our signatures.
Happily ignorant of this, we began the wet and rainy day taking the bags of garden refuse to the dump, then drove on to MacPenny’s garden centre in Bransgore, where I wandered around the garden while Jackie plundered the plant sales and waited for me in The Robin’s Nest cafe.
Autumn has applied its rosy tints to many of the potted shrubs on offer.
Being the only person daft enough to enter their garden on such a day, I had it to myself. This giant hosta gave me a gleaming greeting.
The dismal weather could not deter the shrubbery from doing its cheery best to brighten the day.
Cyclamen,
fuchsia,
and this flower I cannot identify, splashed colour around. Susan Rushton, in her comment below, has suggested this: ‘The mystery flower looks like hesperantha coccinea.’.
Hydrangeas were a little more muted.
Almost fluorescent green moss coated tree roots;
small ferns punctuated log steps beside which asters, or Michaelmas daisies, clustered; splendid Pampas grass perched on a terraced bank.
Other logged steps were deep in shade;
where William was laid to rest.
A few trees were in the process of shedding their leaves; some clinging stubbornly on;
others decorated damp sward.
Winding paths are already being carpeted.
A loosely coiled hosepipe lay dormant.
Eventually the rain increased and drove me inside where we enjoyed good quality brunches before returning home.
Regular readers will know that it is rare for us to leave the recycling centre ( the dump), without making a purchase from the sales area. Today, Jackie bought a child’s multi story car park for the use of grandchildren and great nephews.
Someone had tossed apples along with branches into the green refuse container. They were rescued and brought home with bags of bulbs from MacPenny’s. As the saying goes, ‘waste not, want not’.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s exquisite beef and mushroom pie; tasty gravy; new potatoes; and crisp carrots and cabbage; followed, of course, by stewed apples and vanilla ice-cream. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the malbec.
The on-going tale of the re-mortgage issue is enough to make your hair fall out Derrick. Be careful, you don’t want to lose your lovely white mop along with your sanity! xo
🙂 Gave me a good laugh. Many thanks, Pauline
That’s funny, Pauline.
That made me chuckle, too. 🙂
Ah MacPennys. Mum loved it; going there was like going to a sweet shop for a ten year old
Thanks a lot, Geoff
I like the way you seek beauty with your camera; so many would trod the same paths without seeing…
Thank you so much, Mary.
Those leaves are just gorgeous
Thanks very much, Lynn
Most welcome
Oh, that log staircase past the purple flowers and around the bend to the red ones – I want to climb it! And, bravo, Jackie! I bet the stewed apples and ice cream was delicious.
Thanks a lot, Jodie. The Head Gardener informs me that the flowers are asters!
I love them – I need asters next year.
The mystery flower looks like hesperantha coccinea.
So it is, Susan. Will add this as a P.S. Thank you very much.
What a major pain. As my father says, “It’s always something.” I hope you get this nonsense straightened out soon, Derrick. In the meantime have another scoop of ice cream. 🙂
Many thanks, Jill. Great comment 🙂
Sorry about the troubles you’re going through, Derrick. But a rainy day is also perfect for garden photos!
Very many thanks, Cynthia
Beautiful photos
Thanks very much, Cinnamon Girl
You are quite welcome
Such beautiful photos, Derrick, and I bet those “found” apples were delicious stewed. I’m sorry about the ongoing mortgage nonsense.
Many thanks, Merril
I love your photos of the damp garden and that red unidentified flower is gorgeous! I hope you can sort out your problem with the mortgage soon.
Many thanks, Clare
Poor William seems to have a nice spot in which to rest.:'(
He does, Brian. Many thanks
The lunacy enveloping the legal world has no parallels and I suspect it is the same across the planet. How different are we then from the primitive tribes? Perhaps ancient laws were infinitely simpler. You did make the best of a rainy day. I was touched by your discovery of William. I guess parts of him have been returned to the air in flowers and foliage.
Very many thanks, Uma.
There is something special in a garden when it is wet. A very nice series.
Thank you, Paol. Nice comment. The project grew on me.
A wet garden…I would also be “daft” enough to enter, the photo colors are more vivid on a cloudy day. William was loved. And of course, you had stewed apples.
Many thanks, Van
Waste not is right! I bet those stewed apples were delicious. Such a lovely, drizzly fall day. And, good luck with that mortgage.
Many thanks, Laurie
Your photos of the garden centre are lovely, Derrick, and I definitely approve of Jackie ‘rescuing’ those apples. We have so much fruit in our village. Every house seems to have fruit trees and shrubs, and there are box loads full of all types outside so many gates.
I wish you lots of luck with your mortgage/re-mortgage issues. “Keep Calm and Drink Malbec”!
Many thanks, Millie. When we lived in Newark, we couldn’t give our excess fruit away. Good advice re mortgage. I need to work on the calm bit 🙂
I love the autumn colors 🙂
I have to sadly report that my cyclamen plant died during the extremely hot summer days in Southern California. My loving care was of no avail 🙁
Sorry about the cyclamen, Rosaliene. Many thanks
The radially symmetricality make me concur with Susan that this is indeed a hesperantha coccinea of the iridaceae family! (And I might add as an after thought, that I have just spent half an hour on Google).
🙂 Time worth spent. Thanks a lot, Bruce.
The first logged steps shot sure drew me in. Quite a pleasant mosey–can nearly smell the earth and leaves!
Thanks very much, Cynthia
Nothing at all wrong with those Apples Derrick..
And what beautiful colours your garden still holds my friend.. Love Autumn.. xx
Many thanks, Sue
Excellent photos again Derrick – gives me space to pause and smell…autumn!
Do hope these legal issues resolve soon – it’s become a crazy world where we are the mercy of systems and policies and the out-of-touch people who create them! So frustrating!
Beautiful autumn photographs.
I like your tradition. Recycling should be a norm in every household. The same about the fruit and veg – it is a shame to put them into the garbage bin.
Thanks very much, Inese
I tend to put apples in myself rather than the bin, so well done on the rescue.
As for modern trends in making everything far too complicated – good luck. I suspect we have much the same views on that subject.
I’m quite sure we do, my friend, Quercus
Shakespeare must have had the same problem – “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” 🙂
I’m just completed astounded by the sloppiness and the lying. Do they think we are daft?
Based on the evidence – yes, they do. However, I suspect that they are picking on the wrong man in the current case. 🙂
Oh, yes. I actually don’t like continuing battles once they are over, but our mortgage adviser wants me to produce a letter of complaint at the end of all this.
Yes, it’s pointless continuing these things, but if even the mortgage adviser suggests a letter of complaint is in order there must be something badly amiss. Good luck with getting through it.
Thanks again
So happy you both realize, there’s nothing wrong with saving discarded food items. 😀
I rescued peaches and nectarines in a big bag where bees were circling in my own apt building dumpster. Ohh, they were juicy and delicious while I did offer one apartment of father and two daughters some, they exclaimed and were thrilled! Have a wonderful rest of the week, just in case I don’t get back to visiting tomorrow night after work, Derrick! ☀ 🌄 🌞
Many thanks, Robin. You do so much with the limited time available
So sorry about the mortgage issues, Derrick and Jackie. Beautiful photos of your day at the garden center though!
Many thanks, Lavinia. We hope we are near the end on the mortgage