Last Day of Term.

But not quite the end of school as the Year 2 team will be in on Monday. We were given the choice of coming in on any day during the holidays but it makes sense for us to come in at the same time and it is better to get things done first and then enjoy the holidays. Even though I have been bringing stuff home all week my car was packed tonight. I was given lots of lovely cards and flowers, chocolates and wine and other presents including a watch which I sorely needed as the strap broke on my watch last week and I've had to resort to carrying the watch in my pocket. Shame I don't drink but there will be plenty of people in the house that do and I'm already tucking into a box of pralines. There were also all my own things which I had bought to improve the classroom including 4 sets of square baskets which have been ideal for storing the children's work and making the place look tastefully tidy. These particular baskets are no longer available and I have even been asked if I wanted to sell them but they will do nicely at home keeping some of my mess under control. The classroom looked very bare once everything was down. It will be interesting to see how the new teacher arranges things. A classroom is such a personal statement as there is usually a wide choice of colours to use for the display areas and the tables and cupboards can be arranged in all sorts of ways. I tend to go for maximum space as I'm big and bump into things if there are narrow spaces.

It's been funny old weather today. One minute blazing sun and the next black clouds appear bringing heavy showers. I notice that we had a power cut this morning so maybe there was thunder around as well. The downstairs is looking very ethnic as the dark brown plaster dries to a pale terracotta. Once it is all dry I can paint it white. It will be such a relief not to have that tasteless 'Disney castle' effect that the previous owner was so fond of.

All the recent rain has boosted the growth in the veg plot. The mazuna is looking the best. The original courgette and squash plants got totally eaten up but the solitary courgette that I managed to find is hanging on, for the moment. The sugar snap peas are flowering but the french beans and the sweet peas are struggling. Most of the pak choi has gone to seed but I'm sure there will be enough to add to oriental dishes when my youngsters are here and the sprouting broccoli looks fine. Not bad for an initial go at growing vegetables.

The parent bush of this bright buddliea died after I pruned it but luckily a seedling was growing in another spot and I was able to take a number of cuttings which are also doing well in the veg plot. Off to bed now for an early night.

A Quick Stroll By The Sea.

It was raining yet again this morning so I finally got down to doing some school work in preparation for the final half term of the year. Our school issue diaries run from September to September and it is amazing how quickly we are coming to the end of yet another year. (It has been a very hectic year but at least we got outstanding for our OFSTED inspection.) Once the SATs tests are over and the reports done there will be lots of fun activities to do with the children including a whole school outing to the beach. (No going in the water because of health & safety rules! )

The rain was slowing down by mid-day so we went for a stroll down at Barricane Beach. I feel sorry for all those people who have come down to 'sunny' Devon for the half term holiday. There were lots of people at Woolacombe and we were very lucky to get a parking space on the road (£1 for an hour instead of having to pay the whole day charge in the private car parks.) When we left a man rushed up and asked if we would wait while he got his car as he was desperate for a space so we sat there ignoring another car that was waiting for us to leave our space. There were quite a few people out in the water but the waves were not that good either.

The tide was in so we couldn't walk along the beach but stood and enjoyed watching the waves rush in. We didn't bring sandwiches, only coffee which we drank while leaning against the rocks. The weather started to clear while we were there and it was quite warm on the sheltered beach.

Back home it stayed sunny for a while so I did a bit of gardening. I've been repotting my tomato plants into some big tubs which used to be outside but were so old and scruffy I had intended to take them to the dump. I'm going to keep all my tomato plants in the conservatory as our climate isn't good enough to grow them outside. So far all my seedlings are doing well in their individual modules but the test will come when I plant them outside. It will be interesting to see what some of my exotic leaves taste like. Peter went off for a late row with the gig club and has just come home, tired but happy.

Summer Snow.

The Purple Beech starts the year with autumnal shades of orange.

It's days like today that make it so hard for us to even imagine leaving the peace and beauty of our little valley. I think even Peter is rethinking his plan to live closer to 'civilisation' when we are older but it is going to be hard to find somewhere that matches this place.

The atmosphere in the garden has been truly magical as all weekend long the air has been filled with a blizzard of fluffy white willow seeds blowing and dancing in the gentle breeze. (The white specks on the picture above.) The sound of birdsong resounded through the valley, apart from when Paul got on his industrial sized ride-on mower to cut the field or the contractors zoomed around at the top of the hill collecting the cut grass for silage. The song thrush sat in his perch almost at the top of the highest tree to sing his heart out both morning and evening as he does every day.

I'm not so sure that the spiders appreciated their webs being filled with fluff instead of nice juicy flies. As I walked through the garden I could occasionally catch the sunlight glinting on the on the singles strands of silk, sometimes 10ft+ long, spun by little spiders that launch themselves into the breeze. It has just been such a lovely warm day, 22C in the shade and at least 27C in the sun. I put on the final coat of gloss paint , pulled up lots of stinging nettles, did some school work and ended the day having a barbecue with Peter and Linas. They had the barbecue while I filled up on cooked cauliflower drizzled with some tadziki.

A male orange tipped butterfly feeding on the aubretia.

PS I do have the flower Snow-in-Summer which is just beginning to come into flower.

Plenty Of Company.

It was a pleasant end to a productive day. Sitting outside in the sun, (at last) in the peace and quiet of the evening, watching the swallows swooping about and the clouds wafting across the sky. A cup of coffee to hand and the satisfaction of washing and replacing all the gravel. I could do with more gravel , maybe when we get a big load in for the drive and yard. Now all I have to do is tidy up the various blocks and stones that are scattered artistically? about the paving and make those steps.

As well as watching the ponies and their foals I had the company of my neighbours' son and his dogs for a while. It is hard to garden when a dog is trying to lick your ear and then runs off with your gardening glove. I was also watched intently by the Canada geese who had brought their goslings up to the field, not a good idea with my cats around.

I dried and ironed my multicoloured t-shirt before putting it in the washing machine with a dust sheet. The result - one light pink dust sheet and one muted pink and purple t-shirt. Obviously the dyes were not colourfast. I had such fun with the dyes that I've searched on the net and you can buy powder that you mix with the dyes to fix them but at £12.50 a tub it's a bit pricey. Dylon do sachets of fix for their dyes but I don't know if it would work with the dyes we have at school.

Signs Of Spring.

I thought we might be in for a good weather day as I emerged into sunshine driving down the hill towards town this morning. Unfortunately the rain had set in by 9.00 and continued all day. It is never much fun when the children are stuck in the classroom all day because it is too wet to go out. They even had to eat their packed lunches in the classroom. Despite all this the children were fairly well behaved and spent part of the day making owl faces on paper plates with moving eyes and 3-d beaks. They chose and cut their own feathers from a selection of wallpaper samples so every one was different.

As I drove home through the rain this evening I noticed that the muted greys and browns of the countryside are being enlivened by the occasional splash of brighter green. On the verges clumps of new growth of wild garlic, (ransoms), are appearing and even the bare branches of the bushes and trees are looking less sparse as the buds begin to thicken up. At home the honeysuckle buds are unfurling their sage green leaves so that it doesn't look as if the wall is covered with random sticks. I also noticed that those pesky jackdaws have been working on the wire netting I put up so I'll have to get the ladders out again and bang in a few nails to hold the netting fast. Should have done that in the first place.