Many thanks to Louise at Ramblings of a Roachling, for giving me the heads up on this weekends #photoanhour on Instagram. I love participating in the challenge, even though most of the time I don’t have anything interesting planned. This weekend however I did have something planned but events conspired against me and I was left trying to fill the time up. So here’s what I got up to during my 12 hours of day!
Photo an Hour – 16th June 2018
8am to 9am:
My Saturday began at 8.15am. I awoke to a drizzly morning. The plants in the yarden had a well earned drink while I made breakfast.
The yarden at 8.30am
David visiting Bennie
9am to 10am:
David and I took a visit to David’s Mum and Dad for Father’s Day. We were also meeting David’s brother, sister-in-law and nephew for a family trip to a nearby farm. We enjoyed hugs from the family’s Newfoundland, Bennie.
10am to 11am:
We were still waiting for David’s brother and sister-in-law, so David took to drawing on a chalk board while his nephew Ewan drew with felt tips.
Visiting Family
Cactus
11am to 12pm:
We were still waiting. I was running out of things to photograph. I liked this cactus display David’s Mum had created.
12pm to 1pm:
With no communication from family, David and I decided to go home for some lunch.
Home
Mersey Tunnel
1pm to 2pm:
Finally after 1pm, we got the call that family were ready. So we headed towards the tunnel, to the Wirral.
2pm to 3pm:
Our destination was Claremont Farm, where we all went strawberry picking!
Strawberry Picking
The Liver Building
3pm to 4pm:
On our way home, I quickly snapped this shot of the striking Liver Building.
4pm to 5pm:
Time for a quick break before housework. I decided to make a start on the day’s 30 Days Wild blog.
Blog
David cooking dinner
5pm to 6pm:
While I tackled the hated vaccuming, David rustled up an egg fried rice in the kitchen for the evenings meal.
6pm to 7pm:
During mealtime, David snapped this sunlit viper’s-bugloss.
Vipers- Bugloss
Strawberries and Raspberries
7pm to 8pm:
To end a particularly tiring day we sat down to hand picked strawberries with a mix of shop bought raspberries and ice cream. The strawberries were yummy!
Thanks to Janey and Louisa for setting up the challenge.
Bev from Confuzzledom informed me that the latest #photoanhour challenge was this Saturday 20th January 2018. I decided to join in on Instagram. Though my day was hectic I wouldn’t class it as exciting! Here’s my 12 hours of Day.
Photo an Hour – 20th January 2018
8am to 9am:
My Saturday began at 8am with the alarm clock blaring. I was the first up and with Artie fed, I waited for the kettle to boil for my morning coffee.
Breakfast
Getting dressed
9am to 10am:
I dawdled over breakfast. The morning was cold, grey and raining. It was difficult to motivate myself, but I knew I had to get up as a busy day awaited. I spent fifteen minutes putting on my make-up and getting dressed.
10am to 11am:
First on the agenda was the weekly shop. We spent a good hour in Asda spending lots of money on gym clothes and groceries.
Shopping selfie
David’s car radio
11am to 12pm:
Was spent unpacking groceries, travelling to garages so David could pump up his car tyres and travelling to a spice market that was sadly closed when we got there.
12pm to 1pm:
Arriving later than planned, we took a visit to David’s mum and dad.
Cup of Tea
Flowers
1pm to 2pm:
Home, I managed to arrange the cut flowers I’d bought that morning.
2pm to 3pm:
While having a late lunch, David noticed we had an egg in the aviary. It was a tiny owl finch egg.
Owl Finch egg
Clean bird feeders
3pm to 4pm:
Thankfully the rain stopped long enough for me to spend some time in the yarden. I cleaned the bird feeders of mold.
4pm to 5pm:
After doing some house work, I tried on my new gym clothes!
New gym clothes
Finches enjoying the millet
5pm to 6pm:
After cleaning the aviary, we watched as the finches enjoyed their new French Red Anjou Millet!
6pm to 7pm:
Dinner time. I was starving! We both had pizza for Saturday’s evening meal. David’s was topped with chicken, while I had half a goat’s cheese with spinach pizza. I served it with a heap of salad to make it look healthier. Of course I enjoyed a nice glass of cabernet sauvignon too :p
Dinner
Relaxing
7pm to 8pm:
For the rest of the evening I relaxed with Classic FM and Tom Hanks’ Uncommon Type. David and I also snuggled and watched a film together. It was a nice end to a hectic day.
Thanks to Janey and Louisa for setting up the challenge.
Well it’s half way through The Wildlife Trust‘s 30 Days Wild and I have to admit, I am loving it! The two weeks have gone so fast, though it really has made me look extra hard at the nature in my environ and made me value what’s there.
Monday and Tuesday:
As I made my ‘merry’ way to work I noticed that some wild poppy plants had seeded themselves between the cracks of flag stones in my road. I saw today that they had bloomed! They have huge, crimson heads! They grew in the same place last summer and Mum harvested their seeds. I now have some growing in my garden! 🙂
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One of the 101 things ‘wild’ to do over the 30 Day’s of June was to plant Borage for bees. Two weeks ago I bought Borage seeds. I had tried looking in garden centres for the actual plant but none had any, so seeds had to do! While watering my garden, I discovered that the Borage seeds I had planted are now starting to grow! The plant seems to be a quick grower, so I have high hopes they will flourish, though perhaps I have one too many growing! :p
Many Borage seedlings
I also noticed tiny seedlings popping through the soil in the other planters where I planted Teasel seeds, I hope some mature! Fingers crossed!
Teasel seedlings
We had another bee visitor to the garden to add to the numerous, Garden, Tree Bumblebees and Red Mason Bees already visiting. It was the first sighting of a Wool Carder Bee. To be honest I have never heard of one, until now! But I am amazed at how much diversity of species is found in just one small garden! My planting for wildlife has really been a great success!
Wool Carder Bee
I also spotted while in the garden the visiting Swallows. I was honoured to see one had finally settled and sat on a TV aerial! The footage isn’t great, I couldn’t keep my hand from shaking, but you can clearly hear his song!
Wednesday:
R.I.P Pearl
Today was a grim day weather wise and while I stopped for lunch at work, it also became a dark day emotionally too. I always check my phone during lunch break and today noticed three text messages all from my Mum! I read them in ascending order and my stomach knotted after reading the last. My Mum was home on her own. Pearl, one of the three remaining of the 15 cats we once had, had a turn. It was not totally expected, Pearl had become frail over the passing weeks, she was 17 years old!
I later found out that Pearl was found unconscious and Mum hastily took her to the vets. On arrival the vets checked Pearl out and could have attempted resuscitation. However the decision was made that resuscitating Pearl wouldn’t be beneficial after the vets found that she had a tumour in her stomach and shrunken kidneys. Mum bravely went in to be with Pearl, though Pearl was unconscious and oblivious. Due to Pearl’s lungs shutting down she had a gas mask over her mouth. The vet said that Mum had done the correct thing in bringing Pearl to the vets, as if she had left her at home, she would have died there! Mum said Pearl passed away peacefully. The vets at Adams veterinary Centre were fantastic and cared both for Mum and Pearl. Whenever we have been to Adams vets, we have had immaculate service, it’s just a shame that most of the time we go because one of our cats is ill!
On a lighter note, once David and I were home from our respective employment, after dinner we noticed a lethargic bee sitting on the Cat Mint. I noticed she hadn’t moved for over half an hour! We decided to pop out into the garden and see what was wrong!
As soon as David placed his hand by the bee it sauntered towards him and sat contently on his hand.
Buff Tailed Bumblebee on David’s hand
I rushed inside to make a spoonful of sugar, (as the Disney song goes) and water. With the solution, David placed a droplet before the bee. The bee walked about his hand and then it smelled the sugar. It was almost as if the bee sat up! Her proboscis shot out and she started lapping up the solution. It was indeed fascinating to watch as inside her proboscis it looked like the bee had a little tongue also! After a few droplets of solution the bee seemed to get more energised and she eventually started to fly, a little laboured to start with. David described the bee as flying a circle around us as a ‘thank you’ before she flew over the wall! I hope she was just tired after foraging and that there was nothing more serious, she indeed had a full basket of pollen!
Thursday:
On a mid week shopping spree I bought some lard as I had run out of fat balls and did not know when the next time I could get to B&M. I decided to do another suggestion from the 30 Day’s Wild challenge and make some food for the birds!
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I used a 250g pack of lard (I warmed this up in the microwave for 2 minutes). I sprinkled some bird seed, dried meal-worms, and plain flour into the mix. I then found the mixture was too runny so I added some dried oats and then spooned the concoction into plastic cups (I bought 50 for £1) with string fitted so I could hang them on branches. I also put an A4 piece of paper into a fat ball feeder and spooned the mixture inside to make a fat block! I left them to one side to solidify! Once hardened, I hung in the garden. It didn’t take the Starlings long to notice the new food!
Fat cake I made for the birds
In the evening I attempted to watch the setting sun, however the clouds (I couldn’t tell what type even after half an hour trawling through the internet,) were not best placed and all I got was a slight tinge. I will have to keep trying to capture a good sunset!
The setting sun
Friday:
David is becoming a real Dr. Bee-little. Again he saved a bee from being tired and cold! This time after the sugar/water solution did not do wonders, David brought the bee into the house for a warm! It soon revived and David said once he had taken the bee back outside it orientated itself and flew off.
Another Buff Tailed Bumblebee
Saturday:
Can I say ‘phew’ what an epic Saturday? I haven’t stopped, nor had time to do any house work! In the morning we spent hours shopping and in the afternoon, after lunch, we visited David’s parent’s and spent a lovely few hours with them! We got home just before 5pm and the rain that had blighted the day had cleared to leave a lovely sunny, and warm afternoon!
I rushed out to sit in the garden for a few minutes before making a start on the evenings dinner.
The Cat Mint was full with bees! I counted at lest seven on it at one time!
The numerous bees have become a food source for the visiting Swallows who I saw swoop over our garden! It was a joy to behold. I really need to get a life. I get excited at such small things of late! 😀 I said to David that to think the Swallows had come all the way from Africa to summer here! What sights they must have seen and to summer vacate in Liverpool!?! We are so blessed to have them here! 😀
I saw what I thought were Honeybees on the Cat Mint, but apparently they were just tired Mason Bees. Poor little fellas!
Tired Mason Bee
For dinner I made a Spicy Vegetable and Barley Soup, but it ended up more like a stew than a soup! So I tweaked the recipe for here.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Tbsp Olive Oil
Cloves Garlic, Minced
Large Onion, Chopped
Medium Carrot, Chopped
Pepper de-seeded and chopped
Celery Stalks, Chopped
Leek, Chopped
Chilli de-seeded and chopped
1L Reduced Salt Vegetable stock
1 Can Diced Plum Tomatoes
50g-100g Pearl Barley
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt and pepper
Method:
Heat the olive oil over a medium heat then add the onion and sauté until the onion is soft (about 3-4 minutes).
Then add the chilli, the Carrots, Celery and Leeks and sauté for another 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Lastly add the garlic and sauté for a minute.
Stir in the vegetable stock, tomatoes and barley.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring the soup occasionally.
Add the cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately with bread…
The bread I decided to make was a wholemeal Turkish flat bread. However I don’t think it was very flat nor very Turkish, though it was the best thing in the meal!
Wholemeal Turkish Flatbread!
Wholemeal Turkish Bread
500g of wholemeal flour
1, 7g sachet of dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
350ml of warm water
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 egg yolk
1 tbs olive oil
Method:
Combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and then add the water. Use hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place dough in a bowl and cover with a towel. Set aside place for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 230°C.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half to make two pides. Flatten slightly with hands. Place each pride on separate pieces of floured, non-stick baking paper/baking tray. Cover with a towel and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 15 minutes.
With floured hands, stretch each piece of dough into desired shapes. Leave on non-stick baking paper/baking tray. Cover with a towel and set aside again for 10 minutes.
With egg yolk in a bowl. Brush the top of each pide with egg mixture. Use floured fingers to make indentations on top and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Cook pides for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.
Sunday:
Over the weekend our bird feeders have welcomed:
Pigeons
Blue Tits
Goldfinches
Starlings and their babies
House Sparrows and their young!
Sparrows only visit our feeders for a short period of time before moving to better gardens with more variety! I managed to get footage of both Starling and House Sparrow fledglings. The Starling was eating the fat balls I had bought while the House Sparrow was enjoying a nice bath!
David also saved two bumblebees today! One he found in his rockery being pinched by an insect. He couldn’t identify what it was, though did manage to get the bug off the bee’s leg. David then placed the bee on the Cat Mint and watched as the bee happily started collecting nectar.
Minutes later Artie had caught a bumblebee in his mouth and had taken it through the house, with David and myself following after! David managed to rescue the bee from the jaws of Artie and released it outside where it flew off, lucky to have escaped!
As I said at the beginning of the post I am thoroughly enjoying my 30 Days Wild! I am loving the wildlife that frequent my garden and look forward to week four and many more ‘wild’ sightings! 😀
I was looking forward to sending the long four day Easter break with David. I had hoped we would spend the time together, having fun. It was not meant to be.
The Friday started off ok, visiting family and doling out the simnel cakes I had made for everyone. I even sat out in the yard and enjoyed the warm spring sun with a glass of wine and Classic FM’s ‘Hall of Fame‘ playing in the background! 😀
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However the rest of the weekend was mired with worry over the living room fireplace, where David was trying to put his TV on the breast. He drilled in four holes for the bracket and found that behind was hollow with bricks falling down!! It did not help matters that I was snapping like a crocodile due to ‘that time of the month’ slowly approaching!
Sunday, Easter Day was a cloudy affair, though I noticed in my garden that things were slowly coming back to life! My Aubrieta, which I thought was dying has sprung into purple flowers and my lovely Magnolia tree is budding with small white flowers. 🙂
I was all excited for Christmas this year. It was my last under my mum’s roof before David and I made the move into the new house next door!!
For Christmas Eve, I listened to Classic FM all day. There were four hours of Christmas carol requests, while I made fat cakes for the wild birds. Then there was the narration of ‘The Snowman’ by Aled Jones, the story gave me memories of when I was a carefree ‘happy’ child!
Christmas day was a quiet affair were I drank a bottle of cava (as no one else liked it!) and I sat watching ‘Insidious 2’ with mum and brother Daniel. In the morning we all opened our Christmas presents together, Riley was funny taking his gifts and ripping the wrapping paper off them!
I seemed to have an endless supply of gifts from the family!! I even grew quite bored opening them all!!! Mum got me a bottle of brandy. Daniel got me a crystal nail file and David got me amongst others, diamond earings and a bucket of actual poo from Colchester Zoo!!! At least the flowers will grow next year!!
Boxing Day was all about visiting family and in-laws. In the morning we visited my brother Stephen and my two nephews Nathan and Aaron and in the afternoon we visited David’s family where we had salmon salad for dinner and played ‘Pictionary’ on the Wii ’til 1am!!
Is it just me or has this week been extra long….??
On the great British subject of the weather, it has been rather changeable this week.
My day off last Friday was a blur, as I was rather incapacitated with a migraine. Whether it was through hormones or alcohol who knows?
I have done a full 30 hour week at work this week and with this Friday being my day off (as I only work four days) I accompanied my mum to my brother’s house to visit his family. I loved playing with my two nephews Nathan and Aaron. I conversed with them as they played on the computer and for lunch I shared my tomato soup with Aaron who in turn shared his strawberry yoghurt with me. It was fun! 😀
I have been going through 50 fat balls a week recently as lots of Starling families have been visiting. There were at one count 15 Goldfinches. I am wondering whether this winter we will break the record of 20 Goldfinches visiting the feeders??
There were at least four House Sparrows in the yard the other day and walking to work on Monday I walked down a road and there were about 20 Sparrows all in the road foraging for food…
I know the seasons have changed as the afternoon sunlight through my bedroom window has changed direction. I just hope we get a breeze of an ‘Indian summer’ come the end of August just in time for the Liverpool Philharmonic to perform in Sefton Park, next Friday!
The concert includes:
Bizet Prelude to Carmen
John Williams Jurassic Park Theme
Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Wagner The Ride of the Valkyries
Holst Mars from The Planets
Verdi Triumphal March from Aida
Prokofiev Montagues and Capulets from Romeo and Juliet
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture
and much more great music…
Vasily Petrenko conductor
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Hosted by Jamie Crick, presenter of the weekday afternoon show Classic FM Requests.
I simply can’t wait!!
This weekend I have nothing planned. David will probably want to complete the bathroom floorboards, while I, probably will enjoy a nice Costa coffee from my Tassimo machine 😀
Christine Lucas 