May 2023 – Page 2 – derrickjknight

New Heights

Before lunch Jackie and I swung gently into our matutinal garden

tasks – planting in her case; weeding and dead-heading in mine.

The yellow Welsh poppies are in regular need of decapitation.

When I ventured out with my camera this afternoon I made sure to neglect neither the

clematis Montana cascading over the front wall nor the established pink climbing rose festooning the trellis.

One of the owls I righted a couple of days ago was returned to its perch alongside the Shady Path while another peeps round a clump of campanula alongside the daisy-like Erigeron.

Some peonies remain at their best while others bear sculptural seed heads.

Other clematises include the close-up Doctor Ruppel and the one I cannot name sharing its arch with a blue solanum. Magenta valerian is a focus of the Cryptomeria Bed; Leather leaf viburnum stands in shade beneath the copper beech; irises thrive in the West Bed; and these aquilegias are found in the Rose Garden, of which

these are further views, the last of which contains

both Gloriana and For Your Eyes Only.

Meanwhile Arthur Bell has reached new heights this year.

This evening we all dined on tender roast lamb; crisp Yorkshire pudding; boiled new potatoes; carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli al dente, and meaty gravy, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Moerbei.

Cucumber Sandwiches And Dorset Apple Cake

On a warm and sunny morning, listening to sweet tones of birdsong, to the crackle of jackdaws in the chimneystack, to the crunch of gravel beneath my sandals; keeping alert for wasplike Syrphidae hanging flickering and bees buzzing at eye level; I carried out weeding and deadheading, and righted a few fallen owls.

This afternoon Frances, Jacqueline and Elizabeth visited for tea. Because our guests were all old ladies, albeit rather younger than me, Jackie thought it fitting to provide rindless, crustless, cucumber sandwiches and some of egg mayonnaise to accompany the Setley Ridge Dorset Apple Cake provided by Elizabeth, with large dollops of extra thick clotted cream.

My sister Jacqueline, little pinky suitably extended, enjoys a sandwich,

while Jackie flourishes a plate of cake.

Ellie and her parents came out to join us in the patio, but could not stay in the bright sunshine and needed to return to the sitting room. Our great-granddaughter is now able to wave a hand in greeting with a creditable attempt at saying “hello”. Here Jackie does likewise, but it

was a bit overwhelming for the little girl to reciprocate.

She was more comfortable in the sitting room.

Elizabeth, Frances, Jackie, and I conversed for several hours, reminiscing over shared and unshared memories.

This evening, after the sisters had returned to Elizabeth’s, the rest of us dined on a variety of pizzas with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Moerbei.

What We Turned Into A Rose Garden

This morning Jackie continued preparing pots for planting, some of which she put in place. I carried out light weeding, such as pulling up swathes of sticky willy; dead-heading, mostly of Welsh poppies; and transporting trugs of weeds and clippings to the compost bins.

When postprandial gloom requiring lights indoors to be switched on turned to hammering rain I set about more conversions of Classic to Block edits, and categorisation to Garden of the following posts:

Does Anyone Recognise This?

Sam Had The Answer

The Watchers Watched

Not Fit For Purpose

An Alfresco Bath

The last two of these posts from 2014 feature the beginnings of the conversion of a tangled dump to the Rose Garden we have today.

This evening we all dined on a small but perfectly formed roast chicken; crisp roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding; sage and onion stuffing; firm Brussels sprouts, carrots and cauliflower, with which Jackie finished the Zesty and I drank more of the Moerbei

Down To The Lakes At Iris Time

After an uneventful forest drive when no-one was about,

Jackie and I brunched at the Lakeview Café beside Orchard Lakes.

Before we ate, I walked around the pair of manmade lakes circled by banks of buttercups, daisies, and dandelions, bordered by hedges hosting may blossom; with scattered lifebelts placed in case someone fell in, the water was the fixed focus of attention of carefully socially distanced silently reflecting elderly gentlemen gazing into the depths in hopes of a tug at their periodically adjusted line or a tell-tale surface ripple signalling a flailing finny catch.

It may be lilac time at Kew, but here it is the time for yellow flag irises.

With the rest of the family all out for the day, and having seen our brunch, no-one will be surprised that Jackie and I enjoyed small amounts of left-overs this evening – mine our takeaway curry, and Jackie oven fish and chips – with which she drank more of the Zesty and I drank Moerbei Testarosso Sangiovese 2020

Baby Species

On this morning of largely overcast skies and warmth to which we have not recently been accustomed, I carried out dead heading and the easier weeding whilst Martin occupied himself with

the heavier clearance work in the Rose Garden

and cutting the grass.

After lunch Becky gave Ellie one of her regular walks round the garden.

Later, Jackie and I took a forest drive.

Beside Holmsley Walk Campsite we spotted two foal colts somewhat younger than our great-granddaughter.

The first of these, still clinging to his mother, grappled with the problem of pesky flies;

the second, a more recent occupant of the womb, slept through our visit. The last two images in this gallery are by Jackie.

At Norley Wood we observed both roadside pink may blossom and rich golden moorland gorse.

King Charles III, his mask having slipped a bit, still occupies his celebrity seat in Robert Gill’s Everton Road garden post his coronation day.

This evening we all dined on Red Chilli’s excellent takeaway fare. My main course was prawn Madras; Becky’s, vegetable curry; Dillon’s, chicken dhansak; Flo’s, chicken pasanda; Jackie’s, chicken saag. Mushroom rice, pilau rice, special fried rice, peshwari naan, and panir tikka were shared. Jackie and I both drank more of the Zesty.

Comparative Fly-Whisks

Jackie and I took an early forest drive this morning on which

may blossom, like this on Beaulieu Hill, has now followed blackthorn onto the hedgerows.

Opposite this sample we spotted a foal on the verge with a group of ponies.

Ruefully comparing her stubby little tail with her mother’s extensive fly-whisk she clung to the Dam’s flanks, frequently attempted to suckle, scratched with her hoof, and eventually settled seated on the daisy sprinkled sward,

which they kept at manageable length.

A young robin made use of the shadows for camouflage until taking to flight when I approached too near.

Yesterday I had not placed titles correctly on the flower gallery, but did so this afternoon when I also posted

these photographs of sections of the garden, photographed from upstairs windows, at the request of prolific blogger friend Judy Dykstra-Brown.

This evening we all dined on oven cod, chips, and onion rings; fried red tomatoes; green garden peas; pickled onions and gherkins, with which Jackie drank more of the Pinot Grigio and I drank Vineyards Zesty white wine.

Roses Coming Into Their Own

This morning I recovered two pictures for the post: https://derrickjknight.com/2019/11/19/the-dental-riskits/

After lunch I carried out a weeding and dead heading task before

photographing a few flowers, each image of which bears a title in the gallery. Scented roses are now coming into their own.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s tangy lemon chicken and colourful savoury rice with which she drank Dellie Venezie Pinot Grigio 2022 and I drank more of the Rioja.

The Eye Of Gimlet

This morning I converted the following two posts, celebrating Louisa’s mountain adventure in 2014, from Classic to Block edits:

The Three Peaks Challenge

A Marvellous Achievement

Early this afternoon we left the house to embark upon a forest drive. Then we spent the next couple of hours looking for the car keys, until Becky found them in a flower bed.

Jackie had unlocked the car early this morning, then, keys in hand, had removed her flags put out for the coronation. We scoured everywhere possible, including the fridge.

When Becky, who had been out herself with the young family, returned home, she had the idea of searching under the largest union flag. There, nestling among the plant leaves, were the keys to the Modus.

We therefore kept our trip out short.

Some three years ago, I had befriended a pony in a field in South Sway Lane that I had named Gimlet on account of her one piercing blue eye. She became pregnant, disappeared, and returned with a foal for a short time.

Since then the field has been empty and received a new fence. Today

I noticed two equines in a buttercup meadow behind the fence.

Was that a blue eye on the smaller pony? I aimed my lens through the bars of the fence and found that it was.

Was that the offspring of Gimlet?

Further on past Sway we spotted a new colt and his mother.

(Were it possible, I would post a picture of the parent Gimlet for reference. The relevant posts have lost all their images and I have no more time today for recovery. I will attempt that when I am in the mood).

P.S. https://derrickjknight.com/2020/10/08/back-with-foal/ This post is OK

This evening Jackie and I drove to The Red Lion at Pilley to meet Elizabeth, Jacqueline, and Frances for dinner. The others enjoyed roast beef and all the trimmings; Jackie chose excellent fish, chips, peas, and onion rings; my pick was plentiful pork tenderloin and various vegetables. Ice cream, for three of us; coffee for Fances; and vegan cherry pie with non-vegan cream for Elizabeth were to follow. Jackie drank Diet Coke while the rest of us shared an excellent Malbec.

Garden From 2014 To Today

This morning I converted the following posts from Classic to Block edits, changing the categories of Fag Ends and Gauntlet to Garden:

The Siren Deer

Fag Ends

Tales From The Window Sills

The Gauntlet

A walk in the garden sunshine this afternoon produced

these photographs, each of which bears a title in the gallery. In particular we have rhododendrons, peonies, aquilegias, wisteria, ajuga, and ferns; and I must point out that the shrub with clusters of white flowers is not a philadelphus as I recently incorrectly named it, but a viburnum plicatum.

The featured image did not exist in 2014.

Beckie joined us this afternoon to stay for a few days.

At 7.30 p.m. Jackie is preparing mozzarella sticks, halloumi cheese, and salad to accompany her own baked potatoes and Flo’s coronation chicken for us all to eat on plates on our knees while watching the Eurovision Song Contest which Dillon and I have been prevailed upon to watch for the first time in our lives.

Reading And Conversion

Having this morning finished reading Lawrence Durrell’s “Justine” I later published https://derrickjknight.com/2023/05/12/justine/

This afternoon I converted the following posts from Classic to Block edits, changing categories of the first two to Garden:

Painted Into A Corner

Roundup Not Required

Some Interesting Strands

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s classic cottage pie and tasty gravy together with well cooked carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Hacienda Don Hernan Rioja 2019 given to me by Ian last night.