(Birth)Days Out

A couple of weeks off, and in between gardening and other things, took a trip out East again for a birthday family visit - with a stopover in Ludlow along the way . . .

Time for a wander, a beer / cider or two, and a curry - the sun even shone for us.

Moved on the next day in time to cook up a frangipane for Dad's birthday, while melting in the heat of the kitchen.

Why is it always so much hotter in East Anglia than it is in Wales?   

Were glad of the opportunity to cool off in the hotel pool a couple of times over the visit!

Day out to Oxborough Hall - this time with the roof mended - beautiful day, although some flying creature took a bite out of my arm (just hoping it wasn't a horsefly).

The flower borders were particularly stunning, although I spent far too much time stressing over passing insects, worrying if anything else was going to bite me :(

Finished the day with a family dinner out that evening - very nice :)

Time before we left to help out with a bit of gardening -  then we were on the road back to a somewhat greyer Wales.  Hopefully we'll see a bit more sunshine before it's time to go back to work again.

The Dangers of Hedge Cutting

Over the last few days we've been occupied with hedge cutting (see results on left).  We have rather a lot of mature hedges - mainly privet at the front and on one side, and a bit of a mixed bag (hawthorn, beech, yew) towards the bottom of the garden, plus brambles!

We tend to cut these twice, or at most three times a year - one big cut at the end of June (by which time hopefully the birds which nest within the hedges have got at least one brood out of the way), a potential late-summer 'trim', and the pre-winter end of the year tidy-up.  This year it has seemed like even more of a major task than previously - although we did 'remodel' one section, which involved a fairly radical cut.

On the whole it was just a bit of a slog in the hot weather, with Martin cutting while I cleared up the debris.  Ended up filling 5 of these big bags and taking them out to the tip - the trailer has come in really useful here!

And on the final day - despite having applied my insect repellent - I fell victim to a passing horsefly.  So I now have a rather impressive bump on my knee, and am popping antihistamine every 4 hours.  Hopefully normality will resume shortly as it's making it rather stiff going at the moment.

Giving serious consideration to investing in a zapper thing which generates a mild electric shock - apparently if applied to a bite within an hour or so it can help reduce the swelling and itchiness.  Will report back on said device in due course - although hopefully I'll never have occasion to use the thing if I do buy it!