Beach walk

 We all seem to be ill. Maria's dance showcase on Saturday evening was great but since then it has been downhill. Alison has been in bed since and Maria is off college today. Bridie and Joseph are home too and I collected anitbiotics for them yesterday evening. I'm feeling rough too but am keeping going, feeling better when out and about to be honest. Despite not feeling too good on Monday, Maria was at dance as usual and earlier in the day, she was in Bournemouth to ice skate with friends from dance. I took the opportunity to walk Juno along the sea front, part of which was fenced off due to recent cliff falls. 

Glen video called from Brisbane and was really happy. He and Harri are having a great time and love the place. Good to see him looking well and having already been surfing despite it only being 7am! He'd been up at 5am.

Rural bike ride at Christmas

It's the time of year when we get so excited looking forward to the festivities and so I went out on a bike ride with the aim of enjoying the cold and looking out for decorations and evidence of people preparing for the big day. As it happens, I would have been better avoiding the countryside where the homes are few and far between and little in the way of Christmas was in evidence. 

Remedy Oak was a short stop and I never fail to be moved by the understanding that this oak tree has stood here for hundreds and hundreds of years. What has it been witness to over that time? 

I headed into Horton before stopping to take some photos of the old village pump and the fields leading up to Horton Tower. From there I cycled up to Drusillas which had lovely fires burning with two wood burners ablaze. It looked very festive before I had to get back on the bike to finish the 8 mile ride in the cold with a light drizzle falling.

Alison and Maria were watching Love Actually whilst wrapping presents, Alison having been shopping with Bridie this morning. I finished the wreath for Sandra and did a bit of work on the bathroom tiles and made the leek and potato soup using the leeks from the allotment.

Busy Wednesday

I was up at 4am this morning for no discernible reason and have felt sleepy all day as a result but I have managed to keep going and got a few things done. Having had the girls staying over last night, I did us all a nice big pan of porridge for breakfast and am pleased to report it was finished off with aplomb. The girls also ate the topping which included chia seeds, flax seeds, wheatgerm, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, mixed nuts, dried mango, cranberries and dried apricots, plus some cinnamon and two teaspoons of homemade blackberry jam. All very healthy and virtuous!

Having walked Juno I drove Alison to work and then Maria to college. Once home I walked Juno to the woods again so I could cut some hazel to make a Christmas wreath for Sandra. It's all done now and I'll give it to her on Friday when we head to Dorchester. I also got the new pressure washer out again after doing the patio on Monday. I washed the car and then the motorhome and was very pleased with the effectiveness, especially with the motorhome and getting rid of the moss and algae build up in hard to reach places.

After lunch I went to collect Maria from dance but stopped at the WM allotment and picked four leeks and some coriander, as well as weeding the final two beds which I then put compost over. That should be that for the winter with regard to that allotment. There are plants doing well though, the garlic and broad beans for early summer, and the remaining leeks.

Making a curry now, having dropped Joseph at home and off to collect Alison next. No driving for me tomorrow and Maria isn't at dance until the evening. Time for a lie in!

First December post

It's been a while since last updating and I guess that reflects the business of this time of year. I was out last night collecting Maria and stopped in verwood to walk Juno which is when I took the photo of the Christmas lights and decorations at Ferrets Green. 

Our home is alight with so many sets of lights now, as well as the decorations accumulated over many years. I have also been collecting fir cones, greenery and fallen branches to bring the outside in, something made a lot easier by the recent storm. As is traditional now, I have been making wreaths using the thin stems from the hazel trees down in the woods, wound together and then festooned with holly, ivy, yew and other greenery.

Maria has been busy preparing for dance exams and for Christmas shows, whilst Glen has left with Harri for Australia where they are spending the next month! We had a brilliant afternoon with Harri's family on Sunday with an early Christmas meal to give them a suitable send off. 

Joe and Kate were over at the weekend with the girls, who also stayed last night with their parents having a council meeting. We've got lots planned for Christmas with them; they are staying for several nights which will be lovely. Bridie has started her new role at nursery which is going well so far, and Joseph is getting into all things Japanese, including wanting to eat with chpsticks all the time!

I was in Bournemouth yesterday and popped into the BH2 Oden for a seasonal screening of Gremlins. Very good.

Friday allotment and beers.

I spent a few hours at the W allotment, the first visit for a fortnight, and there's been a few changes, largely down to the cold weather and then heavy rain. It was still possible to pick spinach and chard, a cabbage head, parsley and rosemary but the courgettes have been eaten by rabbits and the things thriving most are the weeds and grass.

The strimmer made short work of tidying things up and having done a bit of harvesting, I started to tackle the compost. The large plastic bin was easy to move and I spread the compost, such as it was, over the beds I weeded. The bigger job was the main compost heap and that did take some moving things around. However, I was pleased with the results and can start to focus on allowing one lot to decompose further and another to begin. 

There are a few beds yet to tackle but they won't take more than a few hours and then I can more or less forget things for a few months, the broad beans and garlic will take care of themselves, and I can just pop in to pick some greens now and again.

In the afternoon Juno and I popped out for a walk and finished at Drusillas before visiting the golf course brewery for a pint. Nice to see their Christmas things up. Almost time to enjoy the winter and getting the decorations up.

Flooding

Getting around yesterday was a tricky affair with one road completely shut and the others all affected to some degree by the huge puddles of water lying on the roads, the drains and run offs all already saturated. The river running through Potterne is usually accessed by a four foot bank to a little bit of shore but in the photo the water level is at the top of the bank. Very squelchy underfoot all over Potterne.

On the way to collect Maria from dance I stopped at the WM allotment and picked some coriander and three leeks which I will use of soup later. The garlic and broad beans are coming on well and there are leeks to pick over the next months. The beds have largely been manured or had compost added already but there is more to do yet, especially on the far beds where the bean roots have been left in to allow the nitrogegn they produce to be added to the soil benefitting next year's produce.

Healing in nature

It can be overwhelming, just getting through each day, and goodness knows life throws up so many challenges, so I am always grateful that I can largely choose what I want to do each day and have the physical capacity to go out and do it. It is a privilege I am very grateful for and it does help when the going gets tough. 

I walked across Crane Valley golf course down to Verwood this morning with Juno and enjoyed the blue skies, the late autumn chill and the mist rising over the pond as we passed on our way. Once home I did a three mile run taking me through Remedy Oak golf course and the sun was streaming low through the trees, casting lengthy shadows and highlighting the rich greens of the firs. Therapy in nature.