Fresh blooms on my beautiful rose, The Lark Ascending.
This is a video, but it's not appearing on my video clips. We had two nests of young House Martins launch themselves into the ether today. They were so joyous in the air, and it was a delight to watch them.
At one point they came back to their nest but "perched" somehow hanging onto the wall below it.
This was a video too, of the flying ants leaving their nests and about to take off on their wedding flight. Not so good as a still!
This morning I went blackberry picking, as it was wonderfully cool. Picking a bit with rain but as I picked beside the reservoir at the Elan valley, it came on to rain. I soon had sopping wet feet as it had clearly rained in the night too, and I was glad to get home and peel off my wet socks in exchange for dry ones.
Above the car park . . .
The fruit of my labours. I will wash these and freeze them on a tray and they are a free, organic and healthy addition to my winter food stash. 2 1/2 lbs fruit.
Now I am off to put anti-itch cream on the nasty insect HORSE FLY bites I got in the garden yesterday - my gardener was here to mow the lawn, which was shaggy on the cooler side of the house and standing hay elsewhere . . .
An improvement . . .
Beautiful photos...and the young birds launching themselves must've been wonderful to see. In our old house, I'd used some fallen logs for bordering on my flower beds and every year we had a flying ant eruption. It was so fascinating and that particular log was right by some sliding glass doors so we got a front row seat. Well scored with the blackberries! ~Melanie. ps. wet shoes and socks is the WORST feeling...so good to peel them off and get dry :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a good start to the day. Very enjoyable. Now it is VERY humid outside and I shall leave watering round until the morning. I am pleased with the blackberries - some are huge.
DeleteI was SO glad to get the sopping socks off!
Those blackberries are amazing, I looked at the hedges here when I went out on my bike and they are still either small and green or small, black and shrivelled.
ReplyDeleteHow do the House Martins cling on like that? I think the Swifts have already gone from the village here.
They seem to be mostly a large sort of blackberry, and perhaps there is moisture in the air from the reservoirs - dew point might make a difference?
ReplyDeleteI guess the wall is rough enough that their claws can hang on somehow. I was only thinking just now, I think the Swifts have gone now. They normally do the first week of August.
You had Rain we’ve had zilch here , so jelious
ReplyDeleteIt was a delight to be out in it, tbh. HOpe you get rain soon.
DeletePleasant memories of picking blackberries as a girl with my next younger sister. My uncle usually went with us. The best ones grew around the dilapidated 'sugar house' a spot that often appealed to blacksnakes. My uncle carried a walking stick which he thrashed about in the bushes before deeming it safe for us to move in and pick!
ReplyDeleteOMG - if there were SNAKES in my berry patch, I would be GONE! What a memory and thank heavens for an uncle who knew what to do!
DeleteYeah those berries would go untouched LOL the best patch in the area because aint no way I'm picking blackberries with snakes 'in the house' LOL ~ EssDee
DeleteYou and me both then EssDee. We do have a variety (one) of poisonous snake here, the Adder, but they don't live under bramble bushes as a rule!
DeleteI love free food. Your roses are absolutely amazing and I'm quite jealous. No house martins round here, I used to love watching them soaring through the air. But we have had some rain, not much, but the air feels fresher. Been and looked round our Mill Antique Centre and came home with a 1930's beech bookcase to replace a cheap tatty charity shop one. I shall give it a wax polish and get OH to sort his books out. Hope your horsefly bites subside soon, I've got one on my thumb joint, b****y painful! Hugs Xx
ReplyDeleteI have been dead heading them and watering them. I carry all my used washing up water and the cold I have to run off before it runs hot and that helps them obviously. Helps my upper body strength too. That book case sounds like a good buy.
DeleteI am itching like an itchy thing and thinking I will have to take my strong antihistamine at bed time or I won't be able to sleep for itching. Barsteward things - what IS the point of a horse fly?
That is a really good haul of blackberries, you will have to work out how much buying them from the shops would have cost. But then they would not have been super fresh, organic and hand selected. :-)
ReplyDeleteNot a bad start. I will appreciate those in the middle of winter, when I want to make Chocolate Blackberry Brownies . . .
DeleteDavid Austin roses have definitely been a gift to the world. Blackberry and apple crumble are a definite favourite. Living near a bay, in summer, we have things called ‘March flies’ although they can be around all summer! The bites itch for days. We dab them calamine lotion. Don’t know if it really works or is just in our minds 😂 I’ve never thought of putting fruit in brownies, sounds good! JennyP
ReplyDeleteI remember Calamine Lotion. Not sure if it would work on horse fly bites though. These ones on my back are so hard to reach too! ONly get relief from a bag of frozen peas...
DeleteOh gosh yes, chocolate blackberry brownies are amazing. I will see if I have put the recipe up before - I make them regularly - if not, will share it.
Something not to do with blackberrying, though they look good. Just wondered if you had ever come across Story Crow. He tells a good story and the latest, though rambling, is fascinating on Arthur.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xD2BhQZklM
Thanks for the link to Story Crow. I've listened to a bit of it then my neighbour came up to do some work for me.
DeleteWow the blackberries are amazing. We have a few coming on round here but nothing like that.
ReplyDeleteThe birds - so beautiful and so instinctively clever, the wonder of nature.
Alison in Devon x
Some as big as my thumb! It is worth the drice to the Elan Valley - a) it's beautiful and b) millions of blackberries :)
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