Not Exactly Small Potatoes

Not a bad potato crop this year - including some absolute monsters (egg shown for scale):

Kept a quantity of the smaller / better specimens for ongoing use - and spent a happy few hours peeling, chopping, boiling, ricing and packaging the rest for the freezer. Should keep us in ready-to-use mash for a good 12 months at least!

Yes Peas!

Peas Please?  Time to report back on the success (or otherwise) of the 2012 pea strategy.

Tranche 1 did very nicely thank you and yielded a fair crop of peas - tranche 2 was less successful and the peas didn't really swell (but I'll blame that on the weather!).

All in all the strategy seemed to work fairly well, and I'll replicate next year, but might plant a bit more densely to hopefully increase the yield.

Iced Desserts

Just taken delivery of an ice-cream maker - it's only a small unit (makes about a litre) but more than enough for two.

The Iced Raspberry Yoghurt turned out scrummy anyway - looking forward to trying some ice cream recipes in due course . . .

There They Are!

Back to Llanerchaeron today, in search of those elusive piglets.  This time there was an actual sign, although initially we couldn't see the piglets.








The sow in the sty next door made a nice picture though - it really looked like she was basking in the sunshine, with a great big smile on her face!

Then there were the hens, who were scratching some nice hollows in the shade of a bush, and generally enjoying life.





Eventually did get to see the piglets - somewhat less in number than the advertised 13 (don't like to think what happened to the missing 5) - but the remaining 8 were plenty cute enough:

Fore!

Well sixteen actually! Every year we undertake the great garden clear up and we find more long-lost golf balls . . .

. . . and fill more bags with green waste.

This brings the total number of bags taken to the tip in our two weeks holiday to eight!

No Piglets Today

Off to Llanerchaeron today - all on the basis of this 'tweet':

Was poised to indulge my piglet-fetish - but unfortunately they weren't to be seen (a bit young yet I suppose).

Did enjoy the gardens though - and the fruit cage was just dripping with redcurrants.

Then - almost as if to make up for the lack of piglets - this (admittedly rather scratty-looking) robin flew right up to us and positioned itself for the perfect photograph:

Bath Time

Finally managed a few days away this holiday - decided we'd head South in the hope of better weather . . .

First stop - Tyntesfield - Victorian property, bit of a 'house in progress' with lots of ongoing work to catalogue the contents etc. It was wrapped in scaffolding for a couple of years while they redid the roof - interesting video of  the 'unwrapping' here.

From there it was on to our base for the next three days - Bath itself - got to wander the Georgian streets in the sunshine - watch barges on the river - and marvel at the chandeliers in the Assembly Rooms:







Plus some eating, drinking and making merry of course!

Also visited Dyrham Park - a 17th-century mansion, garden and deer park - lovely house, nice gardens (great hedges - or should I say great topiary!) - dangerous ponds (for baby coots - sad story) - and, of course, the deer:






On our way home - final stop - Lacock Abbey:

- a quirky property (part abbey / part country house), situated in a picturesque village - all with the added fun of playing 'spot the tv / film location' . . .