A Big Job Out of the Way

Hi there everyone 😀

Today saw the arrival of the ‘tree men’. If they’d been Irish I may have made some kind of joke about ‘tree fellas’ as there were three of them 😜 … or would that be considered very politically incorrect these days?

Anyway … for me … any visit by anyone doing anything in the garden is always met with a bit of trepidation as there’s always a bit of worry about how the job will go. You know the kind of thing … will they cut too much off? Will they clear up properly? Will there be any traumatic incidents? 

Well I’m pleased to report that all went well. My wedding present magnolia and my self set rowan had their first formal haircuts and are looking very tidy …

The maples and prunus along the back wall had a far more pronounced trim … with the height being brought down by a good four to five metres …

In the above photo the climber is in the tree and you can just see how far he brought the maple down in the middle 😲. The rest was all brought down to that level. 

As you can probably imagine there were a lot of branches to be disposed of …

And this is where they all ended up …

It was most definitely a very good job done and out of the way ready for winter. 

The only problem is … it opens the way now for a long list of other jobs that we need to get cracking on with 😀

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Easing into Autumn

Hi there everyone 😀

I have one more final post to come from our week in Bude but thought I’d get this post in first, whilst it still feels current. 

There has been a serious shift into Autumn over here … in more ways than one. There has still been plenty of sunshine but the temperatures have definitely taken a big dip …

The shorts and cut offs have been packed away and the cosy fleeces and long trousers have been brought back into play. So far we have managed to avoid putting the heating on but I don’t think it will be long … though I must confess we have had a bit of a test run … just to check it’s all working as it should 😜

We came back from Bude with a big bag of cooking apples from Mark and Sarah’s tree … and it’s safe to say there are plenty more where these came from …

So far we’ve had crumbles and apple cake and there is a strudel on the cards next …

In the garden things aren’t looking too bad and the ‘tree man’ is booked in for some serious tree and conifer pruning ready for Winter.

The quince is heavy with fruit … the most laden it’s been for years. We shall make some quince jelly but, as our friends that always used to have a huge bagful have moved away, I think a lot will go to waste. I will try a Facebook post for local friends to see if I can shift any … but they aren’t an easy fruit to deal with …

The rowan is laden with berries too, which look beautiful but are pretty annoying. The birds only eat them as a very last resort and generally not until January. By then the majority have dropped and been trodden into the grass …

Whilst there has been plenty of cutting back it is good to see there is still a fair bit of colour in the garden …

We are trying to get a few more garden jobs done before the weather gets more wintry and Martin is in the process of painting a new front gate. The old one is dropping to bits and now held together with tie wraps … and is looking very tatty.

We are trying to ensure we give the new one as long as possible life as we can and it’s had three coats of wood preserver and two coats of paint on both sides so far. Just one more top coat and then we can start on the posts and hopefully get it hung before too long.

We have managed to repaint the front canopy and brackets and that is looking very smart …

In much more relaxing news we managed a day out with Jackie and Phil, which involved a garden centre visit, a bit of a garden and an Autumn afternoon tea …

And, as you can see, the boots have come out of hibernation.

Autumn is always busy for us … this year especially … as mum is due to have a replacement hip operation very soon. Hopefully all will go well and she will be up and about and back to normal soon. 

We are then hoping for a sneaky week or two back at the lodge as it feels like ages since we last visited. 

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A Week in Bude #4 :: A proper Beach Day ⛱️☀️⛱️

Hi there everyone 😀

Day four of our week in Bude really was all about the beach … a proper seaside day from start to finish.

The weather was absolutely perfect for it, so we packed up all the essentials … picnic, chairs, beach towels, sun cream … all the usual paraphernalia.

We all met up at the Crooklets Beach Cafe …

… before setting ourselves up in a good spot for the day …

The usual beach activities were undertaken … chilling out in the beach chairs, a bit of a paddle and a few beach games for the more energetic …

We had our picnic lunch on the beach …

It was one of those wonderfully lazy days where the hours slipped by without really noticing, and before we knew it the tide was on its way back in and it was time to pack up and head back to Mark and Sarah’s where we finished the day with a garden BBQ ⛱️☀️⛱️☀️

It’s not very often that Martin and I spend much time actually sitting on the beach and it really was the loveliest of days 💜

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Next up … Exploring Port Isaac for our last full day 😀

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A Week in Bude #3 :: Boscastle & The Beach

Hi there everyone 😀

For the third day of our break in Bude we headed just a little further afield … with a drive to Boscastle. Our day started with our first visit to the farm shop for breakfast, which went down a treat.

It was then the usual wander along the Main Street mooching in and out of the small and quirky shops …

… before heading down towards the harbour …

… and the Harbour Light …

We opted for the less strenuous route today and crossed the bridge to the other side of the river and carried on heading for the harbour … 

We sat for a while in the sunshine just taking in the view back upstream towards the village …

… before clambering across the rocks and finding another spot in the sunshine with a great view of ‘Queen Victoria’s Head’ …

We then retraced our steps for a quick pit stop at ‘The Welly’ …

Boscastle is a really lovely spot, and somewhere we always try and fit in when we are staying down that way. After we finished our wander we made our way back to Bude for a relaxing afternoon by the sea.

The sunshine was still on our side, so it was the perfect chance for a bit of a paddle for Bobby and I …

… whilst Martin had a closer look at some of the rock pools …

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Next up … a full-on beach day, with plenty of sun, sea and sand. 🏖️

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