DISHY DISHCLOTHS & OTHER DELIGHTS

When I was a teenager, my mum used to knit dishcloths and I loved them. No sponge wipe or J-cloth will ever compete. So, when I saw Bridget on her lovely blog http://malbridgehouse.blogspot.co.uk/ talking about knitting them, I asked her how much she would charge to make me a couple. Today these five beautiful dishcloths arrived in the post and I am very, very happy. Aren't they gorgeous? Anyway, I'm seriously in her debt as she didn't charge me anything. I'll think of something. 

Spring is at last making an appearance in the garden. We're still way behind everyone else I'm afraid, but we'll get there eventually.

Columbine leaves starting to unfurl:

Hellebore (not sure which variety):

Again, not sure about the variety of this little Narcissus:

Guelder Rose is always the first to come out in the hedge, at least two months before the Beech:

Today the dogs and I went for a long walk, made longer by the fact that Jack disappeared down into an old rabbit warren, only reappearing fifteen minutes later. I was NOT happy. He also ate his own body weight in fox poo. Snippet ate the afterbirth from.....er.....something, and, in the absence of waterproof trousers, the weather decided to hit me hard from behind with hail and freezing rain for twenty minutes. When we got back, a complete change of clothes was required. I've had better walks. The sun was lovely before and after the deluge though. 

These next three are of the aftermath of the swailing:

Looking over at Thornworthy Tor:

With the stormy sky behind it, the dead grass looked like fur today:

Whilst sitting in the doctor's waiting room the other day, I found a 'Which' survey of the least satisfactory cars and look what came first/last! I feel vindicated and relieved that we weren't alone.

So until next time, have a great weekend and here are the boys enjoying themselves a couple of days ago. 

SWAILING

Swailing - Controlled or prescribed burning

I have been waiting to do this post for nearly two years but missed it the first year I was blogging and last year was scuppered by rain so that it wasn't done in this area at all. As I'm sure many of you know, swailing is an ancient skill, which clears the ground of dead and overgrown vegetation, allowing new growth to flourish. Gorse and bracken can take over with the demise of grazing animals, and the controlled burning keeps them in check. I had no idea they were doing it today but noticed plumes of smoke as I walked back from dropping Trigger with the Madams this afternoon:

As I came over the ridge my suspicions were confirmed

The ponies seemed completely oblivious to what was happening:

This swail was being undertaken by local farmers or commoners, who graze their sheep and cattle on the moor.

The paths and fire-breaks that are cut before the swail contain and control the fire's desire to spread; the wind was REALLY strong today.

Tomorrow the air will be heavy with the smell of charred grass but in a few months, the green will start to come back.

Trigger has a new friend......

A black and white one who turns up every feeding time.........

Handsome devil. 

Unlike these two female blackbirds appearing to be having a fight on the drive.....foot in mouth. 

Yesterday the dogs and I walked down to the river. 

On the way home we saw this dead shrew. Poor little thing.

OB says thank you for all your birthday wishes and I say thank you for all your positive comments about the cake! It is long gone obviously. Cake doesn't last long in this house. 

The weather is turning tomorrow so Trigger may well be back in his coat, the dogs' walks won't be as extensive and the coal will be back on the fire. We will all miss the sunshine......

......one of us more than the others:

So until next time, have a lovely evening. We've just lost the TV signal AGAIN. What was wrong with analogue exactly? It just went fuzzy in the old days. 

RUBIK'S CAKE

Sitting here in the aftermath of six ten year old boys' afternoon action. The cake no longer looks like this and there is a Nerf gun rubber bullet missing. I should think Jack has probably eaten it and we know where we'll be seeing that tomorrow. If you don't know what a Nerf gun is, and I didn't, it seems that every boy other than OB had one until today, when he has joined a very nonexclusive club; not one I'm that keen on but I grit my teeth and hope that it will stay in a cupboard.  They were so full of pizza that not many of them were interested in the cake. The cube took over an hour and a half and is not the perfect thing I had in my head. Never mind - I did my best. It looks slightly better here I think......

The weather has been so wonderful I can't quite believe it. A couple of days ago, the light was such that the whole moor looked blonde. The new growth hasn't even started to come through so the pale dead deciduous grasses were blown out by the brightness. 

Tornado with his mum:

Yesterday morning was cold and frosty 

This was taken from some way off so apologies for quality but I thought it was funny how unimpressed the top Great Tit looks with the bottom one:

I don't often get near enough to Wood Pigeons to photograph them but this one was sitting in the big tree whose branch fell off last year:

I can still see you.

A buzzard on the wing:

The dogs appearing to be admiring the view:

The  birthday bike is a great success, if a little big at the moment:

The bunting can come down and the balloons popped, the celebrations over for another year. One of the friends is still here and I can hear them chatting upstairs in bed. Can you remember what you talked about with your friends at that age? I realise that I really can't. I wish I could. So, until next time, have a lovely Sunday and here are those dogs in poses that sum them up perfectly.