Tag: Open Arms

Cleared For Landing

Today the wind had dropped to “a fresh breeze” with sunny spells. We each enjoyed several sessions of gardening. Mine concentrated on dead-heading and clearing to compost.

Naturally I carried my camera, photographing the reds and pinks of petunias, pelargoniums, hollyhocks; and roses Compassion, Open Arms, and that we call peach beside the patio. The clematises on the kitchen wall swayed in the breeze.

This morning I watched a bee take off from a poppy ready to land on a fresh head cleared for landing.

It was the turn of Nugget Junior II to attract my lens after lunch. Note he or she still has the yellow gape acting as a target for avian feeding parents and has no sign of the red jersey to come if the infant lives long enough.

Junior’s back was turned when I photographed “Where’s Nugget Junior II”.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s succulent shepherd’s pie; robust red ratatouille; roast parsnips; tender runner beans; crunchy carrots, and tasty gravy, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Domaine La Couquihado 2018 – a smooth dry Cotes du Rhone.

Night And Day

Last night before bed Jackie wandered around the garden with her camera

and produced this set of images.

This morning we worked together in the Rose Garden.

Jackie swept, weeded, and refurbished the pots that had contained tulips earlier in the year. In the first of these pictures she points out to Nugget some tasty morsels found under a stone; in the second she examines a spent bulb in order to ascertain whether there is enough life in it to replant it for next year.

As indicated above, our little robin was very much in attendance, gathering food for his current brood.

I carried out significant dead-heading, and

took photographs from within, and on the approach to, the Rose Garden which can be seen from each of the last few garden views. As usual each of the galleries can be accessed by clicking on any image which can be viewed full size by clicking the box beneath the picture, and enlarged further if required.

The same applies to this picture of the entrance which is also “Where’s Nugget?” (88).

Bees were also very much in evidence, plundering roses such as Open Arms, and clustering on the same poppies as yesterday. I wondered how on earth those with heavily laden thighs would make it back to base.

This evening we dined on cheese centred fish cakes; piquant mixed pasta cheese (still no macaroni) ; and peas, with which Jackie finished the Verdejo and I sampled another bottle of the Malbec.