Chrimbly Countdown – Tree

Linking in with this Friday’s Hawthorns December Photo Hunt. Today’s theme is: Tree – a snap shot of your tree, this year’s, last year’s, the black and white one of you as a tiny tot helping to decorate,  the one on the village square, that shiny white one in the shop, a native tree bedecked with lights and bird feeders – any festive tree 🙂 

2020 Christmas Tree

Due to 2020 being a dire year and with stresses at home, I decided to put up my little 4′ Christmas tree earlier than the usual 1st December. So mid November, out came the tree and decorations. I spent the next two hours decorating the tree with polar bears and birds, it was very therapeutic. I know black trees are not in fashion at the moment, but I like the striking contrast between the black boughs and the white twinkling lights.

What do you think of my little tree?

Thanks for reading,

Merry Christmas!

Christine x

Chrimbly Countdown – Decorations❅

Not from want of trying, I haven’t been able to link in with any of the previous Scavenger Hunts hosted by Hawthorn this year. However December’s hunts are looking a little different, posting a picture on Friday’s instead. So I’m linking in with this first Friday’s Hawthorns December Photo Hunt of: Decorations – a favourite one – was it inherited, did your kids make it or was it one you bought on a whim and love dearly?

This year, the one decoration I was looking forward to get out of storage and putting on the Christmas tree was this Statue of Liberty decoration I bought from a 5th Avenue store in Manhattan, New York City!

Looking at the smiling statue, surrounded by twinkling lights makes me reminisce on a wonderful trip David and I took last December.

What’s your most precious Christmas decoration?

Thanks for visiting,

Christine x

Wild October 2019

On Instagram, I participated in the daily initiative Wild October. A month long celebration of all things autumn.

Below are a few highlights of the month. I hope you enjoy?

Rowan Tree

Conker

Hedgehog

Golden Tree

Pleated Inkcap Mushrooms

Sycamore Leaf

Riley and Leaves

Llyn Geirionydd

Autumn Sky

Apple Festival

Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve

Halloween Flowers

What is your favouite part of autumn?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

December Photo Challenge 2018 – Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen: For today’s photo prompt of winter walk/outdoors, we took Riley wearing his Christmas jumper for a walk around our local park. He spied a tree branch which he wanted to carry. I think it was far too big for him! 🙂

Have you managed to get out today?

Thanks for stopping by,

Christine x

December Photo Challenge 2018 – Day One

Day One: I chose an easy prompt for the beginning of my December Photo Challenge. The prompt being Christmas Tree. This year, I bought a new tree. I stayed with the black theme but chose a 4ft tree. I’ve still kept my little 3ft tree, and have placed that in the dining room. The 4ft tree stands in the living room, resplendent with polar bears and birds. So here’s my 2018 Christmas Tree.

2018’s Christmas Tree

When do you put up your Christmas tree?

Thanks for visiting,

Christine x

December Photo Challenge 2018

Since I loved blogging every day this year for The Wildlife Trusts’ 30 Days Wild. I decided to trawl the internet for photo/blog challenges for December. There were many ideas on Pinterest but none were current. So I decided to create my own from a couple of suggestions I found. Here’s what I came up with.

1. Christmas Tree
2. Advent
3. Snow
4. Christmas tunes
5. Penguin/s
6. Weather
7. Front Door
8. Shopping
9. Pet/s
10. Christmas book
11. Angel
12. Comfort in a mug
13. Christmas Movie
14. Christmas Jumper
15. Hygge
16. Winter Walk/Outdoors
17. Decoration
18. Stocking/s
19. Wrapping
20. Baking treats
21. Winter Solstice
22. Tradition
23. In remembrance
24. Christmas Eve
25. Merry Christmas!
26. Family
27. Gift
28. Grateful for ?
29. This year – a reflection
30. Goals for 2019 (if any)
31. A toast!

After I had compiled my list, I decided to do another online search with a hashtag and found a few current lists on Instagram. The hashtag I used was, #decemberphotochallenge2018, if anyone would like to join me?

Have you ever been interested in blogging for a month? Already have, if so what did you like/dislike about the experience? What suggestions for December would you have chosen for your list?

Thanks for reading and have a happy December!

Christine x

The Oak Tree Experiment.

On my walk to work I pass a row of oak trees. At this time of year, I noticed they had dropped lots of acorns on the ground which crunched underfoot. This got me thinking. Perhaps I could rescue a couple and experiment to see if I could grow one of them? So, I gathered a few on my recent walk and took three decent looking acorns home.

Acorns

Planting acorns

After doing some research I noted that acorns should be brown when planting. Mine were green, so I don’t know whether they will grow or not. Either way, I found a spare pot in which to plant the acorns. I made three small holes and planted the acorns before covering over with soil. I sprinkled some water and have left the pot in a sunny area. I shall update you on the progress of these little acorns and see if any of them will grow.

Have you been successful in growing a tree from seed?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

30 Days Wild 2018 – Day Three.

Day 3: This Sunday David and I (with Riley), ventured to Liverpool’s Festival Gardens in search of elderflowers. We walked 2.6 miles looking for full blooms and thankfully came away with 25 flower heads.

Once back home I cut the heads from the storks, grated the zest from four lemons and boiled a kettle.

Since last years recipe had mixed results, I opted to try another recipe. The recipe I followed was from The Women’s Institute.

• 25- 30 full Elderflower Heads in full bloom
• 2 kg Sugar
• 2 lt Water
• 4 Lemons, juice and pared zest
• 1-2 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
• Dried Yeast, pinch

Elderflower Champagne Ingredients

Elderflower Concoction

Method

• Boil the water and pour onto the sugar in a large previously sterilised container.
• Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add cold water up to 6 litres.
• Add the lemon juice and zest, the vinegar and the flower heads and stir gently.
• Cover and leave to ferment in a cool, airy place for a couple of days. At this point, check and if it has not started to ferment (a few bubbles) add a pinch of yeast.
• Leave the mixture to ferment, covered for a further four days.
• Strain the liquid through a muslin lined sieve into sterilised champagne glass bottles. Seal and leave to ferment in the bottles for a further eight days before serving, chilled.

I will keep you updated on the champagnes progress.

Have you tried making elderflower champagne/cordial?

Thanks for reading, and keep wild!

Christine x

 

Sunday Sevens #41

This post’s a bit late, but it’s been a busy weekend and I’ve not had chance to sit down and write. So here’s my Sunday Sevens devised by Natalie at Threads and bobbins.

Walking the Dog: 
The highlight of the week has been walks with Riley.

Riley and Daffodils

David and Riley and Eros

Today we visited Sefton Park in all kinds of weather. While the daffodils bent their heads in the wind we jogged and walked in the snow, sleet, hail and rain! We had fun though and added three miles to my annual mileage.

#walk1000miles:

This week I managed 35 miles, bringing my total to 108 miles! I also ordered the 2018 badge. If you are partaking in the challenge, how are you doing?

TV:

I have recently been enjoying the BBC 2 programme A House Through Time. Presented by David Olusoga, featuring a house in Faulkner Street, Liverpool. The programme is in four parts and follows the lives of the people who lived in the four storey house.

A Year in Books:

I am currently reading Tom Hank’s Uncommon Type, a collection of short stories with a typewriter mentioned in every one. David informed me that Hanks collects typewriters hence the love for them in this collection of stories. Have you read the book? What were your thoughts?

Elgar’s Enigma – Liverpool Philharmonic

Night Out:

On Thursday David and I took a trip to the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The orchestra performed a varied programme. The low point was a premier of Stephen Pratt’s Symphonies of Tide and Time, which sounded discordant and seemed to have no theme whatsoever. Lithuanian violinist Julian Rachlin performed Brahms’ Violin Concerto enthusiastically, while the high point of the night was Elgar’s Enigma Variations. It was lovely to hear Nimrod played poignantly and variations 11 and 12 were both fun and melancholic respectively.

Classic FM Hall of Fame:

It’s that time of year again, when voting is open for Classic FM’s Hall of Fame. This year I voted for:

1. Rachmaninov’s 2nd Symphony
2. Elgar’s Enigma Variations
3. Massenet’s Meditation from Thais

Even though we are in the midst of winter I am looking for signs of spring. I have not seen snowdrops yet, but I have seen daffodils and willows showing their catkins. Have you seen any signs of spring where you are?

That was my week, how was yours?

Thanks for reading,

Christine x

Sunday Sevens #30

I wasn’t going to participate in this weeks, Sunday Sevens, devised by Natalie. Having 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.

Wild swim at Crummock Water

Hawthorn Tree

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 ID, and 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!

Beatrix Potter 50p

The Kite Runner

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 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: 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!

Vegetable Masala

aquilegia

Visiting cat

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