Sunday Sevens #30

I wasn’t going to participate in this weeks, Sunday Sevens, devised by NatalieHaving been a full week at work, I thought there wasn’t much time for anything else. However I have a few updates which may interest you. So here’s my week!

Wild Swimming: Sunday saw David and I head for the Lake District to walk among the Rannerdale bluebells and to have my first swim of the new season in Crummock Water! I hope there will be many more swim/walks to come.

I.Ding a tree: This week, on my walk in-between bus stops to work, my olfactory receptors have been under assault by a rich, sweet scent. A Path I take is flanked with hedges that have white blossom. I didn’t know what species of plant it was, so I went in search of answers. I Used the Woodland Trust’s British Trees IDand discovered it was a Hawthorn Tree. Most commonly found in hedgerows and also known as the May tree as it blossoms predominantly in May. If you would like to know more about the Hawthorn follow this link for videos and useful information.

#walk1000miles: With leaving for work a little earlier so I can walk longer between bus stops and getting back into a routine on the treadmill means my mileage for the week has been 28.8 miles, which is my best yet! Bringing my overall total to 453 miles!

Collecting: While counting the petty cash at work, my boss, Sue and I have been scouring the 50p’s in the hope of finding more Beatrix Potter coins. During the week, we struck lucky and found a second coin!

Book I am reading: I managed to get through The Lonely, it seemed a story about nothing as everything was alluded to. I have now picked up The Kite Runner. I bought the Kindle version last year and forgot all about it, until this week when I was thinking about what book to read next. I am enjoying it so far, the narrative is well written.

Nestle bee seeds

Nestle Plan Bee: Recently I thought I would try Nestle’s Shredded Wheat – Honey and Nut cereal. I was excited to read on their packaging that they have an initiative of offering free wildflower seeds with any purchase.

  • Did you know, that 97% of UK wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930’s.
  • 70% of UK crops depend on bees to survive.
  • Since 1990 the UK alone has lost 20 species of bees and 35 are considered under threat.

With the help of initiatives like Nestle’s, we can all do our little bit for bees and other pollinators. All you need to do is go to www.nestle-cereals.com/uk/en/plan-bee, buy one of the three cereals with the offer, and enter your details along with the cereal box’s bar-code. My seeds took a week to arrive and I was over the moon! I just have to find some space in my yarden to plant them now! 🙂

30 days wild

30 Days Wild: If free seeds from cereal companies wasn’t enough, I received my Wildlife Trusts’s 30 Days Wild pack on Friday. Among the goodies was a huge wall poster, stickers and a small packet of free wildflower seeds! I also ordered a pack for businesses as I liked the face masks featuring a fox and bunting which will grace the yarden. I am excited for this years’ 30 Days Wild. I cannot wait to see what wonders I will discover! June is only a few weeks away! Have you signed up?

Cooking: I had a culinary melt down this Saturday. I just didn’t know what to cook! There are so many recipes online, but I didn’t want to cook any of them! I was just in a funny mood! So while I was crying, David stepped in and rustled up a reasonably quick vegetable masala. The microwaved potatoes coated in turmeric and garlic were a revelation!

The Yarden: To finish off this post, (I’ve seemed to have waffled on longer than expected). I will share some photos of the yarden. The aquilegia has bloomed yet again and has many heads for the visiting pollinators. On Friday David and I were cleaning up from feeding Hoppy (the pigeon) and her friends, when the friendly cat that has been visiting the yarden walked along the wall and jumped down to say hello. She is a very friendly cat, a bit too friendly! We watched, as she trampled my cat mint, rolling around in ecstasy. We think she has a human family as we only see her around 7pm of a week day. I’d hate for her to be a stray and homeless.

So, that was my week, how was yours?

Until the next Sunday Sevens!

Christine x

Sunday Sevens #29

Once again I thought I would participate in this weeks, Sunday Sevens, devised by Natalie.

Delamere Forest: The bank holiday Monday saw David and I venture to Delamere Forestfor a six mile walk. Neither of us had been since we were children. We had never seen a forest so busy! Families Gruffalo hunting, cyclists and joggers all jostled along the woodland paths. Instead of a leisurely walk in nature it became too overwhelming for David! The only wildlife we did spot was black headed gulls squawking on Blakemere Moss, speckled wood and orange tip butterflies.

#walk1000miles: The walk around Delamere aided my rather sedate week of walking, and has brought my mileage for the week to 25 miles, meaning I have passed the 400 mile mark!

o0OhgWNN30 Days Wild: I applied to be a featured blog on this years Wildlife Trusts’ My Wild LifeLast year I followed many bloggers who were participating in June’s 30 Days Wild and learned something new almost daily. For me, part of the experience was the camaraderie in blog-land, everyone was just so lovely and the sharing of nature enriched my June. I look forward to this years 30 Days Wild and hope to make some more wildlife friend bloggers. Why not follow the link above to join in!

Wildlife: Linking in with the above, David and I have recently bought a bird box for robins. Hopefully we can encourage them to nest or at least give some shelter to those in the area.

I also purchased some marbles this week and placed them in my poppy feeder. I topped the feeder up with water and hopefully it will be a restful oasis for passing bees. The marbles I read, give the bees something to stand on while drinking, save them drowning.

Yarden: The yarden at the moment is looking verdant. One particular plant that seems to be doing well this year is the clematis.

Book I am reading: I’m 100 pages into Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Lonely. It’s a slow burn at the moment. Hope the narrative picks up!

Collecting: I managed to find my first Beatrix Potter 50p! David collects the 50p’s but he didn’t have any Beatrix Potter ones, until Friday, when I found Peter Rabbit!

Peter Rabbit

Peter Rabbit 50p

Do you collect any of the Beatrix Potter 50p’s? If so which ones have you got?

Well, that was my week, how was yours?

Until the next Sunday Sevens!

Christine x