Garden In Bloom

Since my last post we have had some very Spring-like weather, and the daffodils, narcissi and hyacinths have burst into bloom.

The Tete a tete narcissi that I planted a few weeks ago are looking great!

There are more of them in the flower beds - and some primroses, too.

Daffodils and hyacinths side by side - the hyacinths smell divine.

White hyacinths and aubretia just coming into flower

I had a lovely day in London last week with Kino. We went to Somerset house and wandered round looking at some of the exhibitions, then had lunch at the cafe. For the price I might have expected a three course meal but in fact we had ciabatta with posh fillings and hand made lemonade, which was very nice indeed.

After a murky start, the sun came out and we sat outside in the huge courtyard of Somerset House.

I rather liked these strange creatures

I walked back to the station over Waterloo Bridge, from which there was a fabulous view.

And here is the blanket again. I am now on round 9, the last diamond round. I think it's looking great. I am loving the colours.

Early Spring

The spring garden is at the front of the house, and starts a display of bulbs in January, with snowdrops

 ahead of daffodils and narcissi, followed by a carpet of bluebells in April and May. At this time of year it is very exciting to see the daffodil buds coming through.

The roses are also getting started, and some brave hellebores are already in flower.

Indoors, I am working on a crochet blanket. This is a Tunisian crochet project, called Starburst Entrelac Afghan, and it is crocheted from the centre out in diamond shapes. I'm going for an autumn leaves palette which I'm rather pleased with.

At the weekend, following advice from Alan Titchmarsh on Classic FM, I bought some bargain pots of Narcissus Tete a Tete and planted them up on a pot on the patio. I already have quite a few pots of bulbs here and I think they will make a good show in a few weeks!

Recuperation

I'm at home at the moment, recovering from an operation on 10th January. I have been recovering well and my energy is starting to return now, but I still have a few more weeks off work to go.
While I have been resting I have managed to knit and crochet, and I have finished the crochet blanket I was working on last year.

And I've also finished a hoody, with a stripe pattern that I based on a number of other sweaters I have seen around this winter.

As part of my recuperation, I am aiming to go for a walk most days (weather permitting, which has not often been the case these last few weeks!). Yesterday Braveheart and I went out to walk along the Wey Navigation to see how water levels had been affected by the rainfall.
The footpath to the weir was quite wet, and the "lake" that you can see to the left is usually a field with horses in it.

The water on the path was not too deep, so with a bit of care we managed to get through it.

The weir race was higher and faster than I have ever seen it

The water level was high, but the towpath was not flooded and we managed to make our way along it to the road.

It was pretty muddy though!

Bright November Morning

: 

Woke up to a heavy frost, but the sun is burning it off, now. All the blinds are open to let in as much sun as possible and warm the house up!

I'm on square no 53 of my Crochet Sampler Blanket:

That's out of 64 squares required, so phase one is nearly complete! I am now starting to think about the logistics of blocking 64 squares...

Walk From Box Hill

Today was a lovely day, sunny and bright and  er, well, warm. We drove to Box Hill and walked a circuit of 11 miles, mostly in woodland, with a few steep climbs.

We started at the Box hill trig point:

We walked down to the River Mole and crossed over on stepping stones. The river was quite high because of all the rain we have had, so was running quite fast, as you can see.














As we walked through the woods we saw lots of these lovely white flowers. I don't know what they are!

And though the trees a patch of sunlight with bluebells.

This bridge carried a railway over the track.

 Then we reached Ranmore, with a church with a lovely octagonal tower.














And even more bluebells on Ranmore Common:

Fronds of bracken uncurling:

 We stopped for a picnic lunch at Tanners Hatch Youth Hostel, where there was a nice log to sit on.

Further on there was another bridge over the track, this one had a stone badge on it of an arm holding an axe. Stronginthearm perhaps?

These flowers look like rape but they were actually buttercups!

 This horse was very friendly and liked having his photo taken, here with Braveheart.

 More stunning views as we walked on round

 This little dragon was perched on the roof of a house in Mickleham

Another church, also in Mickleham, this time with a round tower.

The last part of the walk was mainly uphill, which was quite demanding after 9 miles, but we made it!

Out and About

Over the Easter weekend the weather was not very pleasant, it was grey, cold and often wet. On Easter Monday we went out for a walk anyway, and it was nice to be out in the fresh air. The most noticeable thing was the lack of colour in the woodlands and fields.

DS and his GF looking across the Surrey hills

A ploughed field

View across the farmland

Crows in a field

Belted Galloways at Newlands Corner

A path through the woods

Throughout the week the weather slowly improved, and by yesterday it was sunny and felt almost warm as long as you had a thick sweater on! We spent the afternoon at RHS Wisley, where we visited the orchid display in the glasshouses. The colours were so bright and warm!

 Then we went to see a Birds of Prey display.

Eagle owl

Kestrel