ARE WE THERE YET?

  

Whilst driving one of Origami Boy's friends home last night, gritting my teeth as they repeated the same ditty for the fiftieth time, I was reminded of a summer holiday in 1981 when my Mother and step-father drove myself and a friend up to the rather bizarre location of Newark in Nottinghamshire. Not that there's anything wrong with Newark - it's a fabulous place, just not the obvious holiday choice for two hormonal teenage girls. Anyway, for the ENTIRE length of the A1, every time we passed a house with a green door, my friend and I piped up with the chorus of the current number one single, which we were very sniffy about: Shakin' Stevens' 'Green Door'. There were many of them and how we made it there without being kicked out onto the verge, I'll never know. My Mother is not known for her tolerance so it really was a miracle. I wonder what annoying things you said or did on holiday car journeys of the past?

What with Jack training and the endless ferrying and overseeing what now seem to be called 'play dates', I haven't a lot to show you other than the delightful chalk work from OB and his friend Lily in the picture above and the following meagre offerings:

Our patrolling toad slacking again

Peacock

Some kind of White....oh for the time to scour the books to find out!

And another...

Red Admiral; the first I've seen up here in five years (on a towel by the way)

This Oriental Poppy appeared very unexpectedly. I threw seed around two years ago to no avail but that hot spell was miraculous

Can't remember the name of this Hardy geranium; it's a shade lover with red stems. Hopeless - sorry!

Hover Fly on the Self Heal

More of the miracle Californian Poppies. I never expect to see them again

So tomorrow is Chagford Show. I really will try and produce a decent post about it. OB is at an Athletics thing today in Okehampton so, having done my Mum's shopping, I actually managed a decent training walk with the dogs. Jack will now come to the whistle straight away and is making real progress with sheep/cow/pony ignoring. All we really need him to do here. Until next time, apologies for being so rubbish, have a good rest of the week and here are Snippet and Jack in our filthy porch.....oops.....not a huge amount of hoovering going on here either.