In a Vase on Monday - collateral damage

I did wonder, with an element of trepidation, what I would find in the garden today worthy of picking.

It turns out that it was not so much picking but collecting bent and broken foliage post Storm Austin and Boelo, so today's #IaVoM is brought to you courtesy of some rather frisky weather!

#IAVOM 26.10 featuring Cotoneaster foliage, Lunaria seed heads, unk. grass inflorescence, Fuchsia magellanica, Sedum Autumn Joy and a couple of bashed Persicaria amplexicaulis var unk.

The garden looks like a rumpled quilt, all the shrubs and herbaceous perennials are beneath a deep patchwork of leaves. Very pretty but not quite the look I was going for, so later, when the rain stops, I think I will go and uncover the paths and see what else has been bent or broken by the weather.

And as a nod to autumn - a beautiful cone collected some years ago from the government gardens in Pretoria South Africa on a glorious warm blue sky autumnal day - a complete opposite of today.

Thank you Cathy of Rambling in the Garden, I shall go and see who else has filled their vases with autumnal delights.

Thar she blows

Its a wild, wet and windy day out there so as an antidote we had Italian lemon pancakes to set us straight for a day's 'play' in the kitchen as we try to get the cupboards up - the original walls are neither straight or flat and have had some rather 'nasty' surprises.

Ingredients for our pancakes

The latest horrors now include a disconnected electrical switch complete with 'hanging' live wire hidden behind a cupboard and a whacking great hole in the wall - no wonder the kitchen was so cold in winter - it had nothing to do with poor insulation.

Starting to smell gorgeous!

Our present builders (using that term lightly) are having to come back - the new roof leaks - ok ok Storm Austin and Storm Boelo are probably a little more taxing than standard northern rain ... but still ... that should  not have happened.

Just one of the many leaks coming down the wall

Any hoo - mid way through making the most delicious lemon scented pillowy pancakes - i received a panicky text from my folks. Their brand new shed's windows had blown in (courtesy of previously mentioned storms) and EVERYTHING WAS WET!

Be still my pancake loving heart

So, breakfast was eaten with a little less gusto and a little more gulping as we set off to sort out a miscreant shed.  Fortunately - although yes, the windows had taken off and were found in the neighbouring county, it was soon mended and made water tight and only the workbench had a bit of a puddle. EVERTYHING else was fine.

Shed mending was paid in fruit cake

Back home, hole in the wall filled and made cold winter weather tight, electric wire caped off and made safe, we are now at the stage of hanging the cupboards - wish us luck I am sure something else 'delightful' will show itself as we go along - but first put the kettle on there is fruit cake and coconut flapjacks to sample.

Aaaaand - how was your weekend? Wet, wild and windy? Full of food and fun? A dusty, mucky, kitchen make over? Go on spill the beans, I love hearing what you get up to too xx

A simpler life

While Himself was creating a dust storm in the kitchen, Wills and I decided to get out and clear our collective heads before the weather closed in.

Luckily for us, just opposite our house is a little back lane which quietly wanders through the village which mostly avoids roads - ideal for a dilly dog who hates lead walking.

Leaves are piling up in corners and along walls, I expect there will be plenty more after the next couple of storms. I tried to capture some images of their acid yellow, lime green and greige tones only to be...

Rudely interrupted by an impatient dog wanting to get to the meadow so she could play.

We played so much that I forgot to take any photos of her gleefully bounding through the damp grasses as she chased her ball aka 'Rugger'. All her toys have names - we are practising collecting the toy by name - slow progress but we shall persist.

The meadow becomes a muddy track which rises up to the upper end of the village. These lanes would have been normal thoroughfare years ago, however modern vehicles don't fit easily (thank goodness) so it is just the locals who venture with their cars whilst the rest of us either walk or horse ride along these older paths.

I love that all these little village ways have names, some times they match the ones on the OS but on the whole they all have pet names that are only pertinent to the villagers.

Many years ago - leading up to the second world war - most of the name plates and signs in and around the village were removed .... to confuse any invading force..... I love the thought that an enemy army could be confuddled by the lack of way markers. The thought that they would be parked up in the centre scratching their heads wondering if their tanks would be better turning left or right and not knowing where they would end up..... Life was a lot simpler then wasn't it? 

Moorland gardening

Wrapped in enough layers to keep me warm and dry but not too many so I can not bend or kneel, I went off to work early doors this morning.

There is a sharp metallic tang to the air and a bite in the temperature. Tiny airborne raindrops swirl around, dampening my fringe and making my glasses mist up.  And that furry idiot I call my dog is in such a good mood that she is being delightfully annoying!

The village hill (not actually ours but a very prominent backdrop to our lives) is hidden beneath a thick duvet of low cloud which is promising to do more than just linger. The weather forecast confirms the same.

Walkers and farmers pass by, some just nodding a brief greeting others stopping to chat so gardening is gently put on hold until I can return to the mud. It is that time of year, when the garden is having her last hurrah before slumping down to sleep where roses still have buds,  honeysuckle blossom still smells sweet, geums still nod their brightly orangey red Mrs Bradshaw heads and weeds still cheerfully grow faster than I can remove them out from the cracks in the old cobbled courtyard.

It is only when I notice the compost wheelie bin is almost filled to the brim that I realise the hill behind has completely vanished and the loitering clouds are now releasing sheets of rain across the moor not far from where I am working.

Time to get moving.  Making sure everything is left tidy and a dilly dog is rounded up along with my muddy tools, we leave and head home. 

Just in time it seems.

Time for a mug or two of tea then a shower for all concerned. Hope your Wednesday is a little drier than mine 😊🐕🌱

What was I zinc-ing?

I am supposed to be working today, but the weather report and the view through the window have confirmed that is certainly not happening. I have spoken to my client and she is quite happy for me to take a rain check (appropriate) until later on in the week when hopefully it will have fined up.

So at the moment, nursing a mug of tea and listening to the rain through the open window I thought I'd waffle on a bit about a gardening project I managed to finally finish over the weekend.

My brother and sister in law live in southern Scotland in a lovely 'but-n-ben' wee hoos on a farm with their neighbour being both friendly and their landlord. He works for the local council upgrading the social housing and saves anything which has been thrown out as part of the make over. So he has a barn full of vintage zinc tanks, copper pipes and wooden panelling. My brother told me of such treasures, so in August when we were up there, I asked to see. 

Himself's face when he saw me lugging back three (rather heavy) zinc tanks full of happy chatter of what I was going to do with them! The tanks have quietly sat in my greenhouse for the last couple of months waiting for their moment. And Sunday was it!

We have a row of large tubs either side to the entrance to our back yard and I was waiting for the sweet peas and clematis to fade and the roses to finish flowering so I could cut them back ready to be transplanted into the zinc tanks.

The over flow pipes had to be either screwed or sawn off and drainage holes drilled in the base (wow that was harder than I expected) and despite wearing ear defenders I could hear it was loud, apparently several blokes (neighbours) all popped out to see what was happening.... Himself just rolled his eyes and said ..... she's making planters and all the men nodded in sympathy for him 😄

I no longer have the strength in my hands I used to and I have to think differently if I am doing something that requires 'blokey brute force'. Handling the tanks and the trugs of soil took some careful planning and judicial using of a wheelbarrow and various levering tools but I got there.

I had fun making a mess all along the back lane

I still have one smaller tank stashed in the greenhouse, that will be for another time, I need the rest of the plants (dahlias, ornamental ginger, salvias and calendula) to die back then I can give them all a refresh and new soil ready to over winter under cover. 

A quick wash down post gardening was needed

In a Vase on Monday - a rather damp day

#IAVOM 19.10 Leycesteria Formosa, Japanese Anemone Honorine Jobert seed heads, 

Crocosmia Lucifer seed heads, one last Cephalaria gigantea head, one last Helenium,  

Cotoneaster and grape vine stalks - voila 

On a rather dreary damp mid autumnal morning where walking into the garden means returning with a wet dog with wet paws, dripping plants and damp feet (should have put my wellies on.....) 

I'd come across Rambling in the Garden a few weeks ago around the time blogger was playing up and one of it's little nasty tricks was not letting me comment on other folk's blogs. Rambling posts a regular floral Monday called 'In a Vase on Monday' (IAVOM) and I thought I would join in.

My garden sadly has a very short flowering season courtesy of neighbouring trees which over the years have grown such that I now and the 'proud' owner of an almost fully shady garden😡. Hey ho.

So, to go out and choose something to pick made me have to look very closely at the bedraggled perennials and shrubs and to my surprise I have found enough to fill a vase.  Albeit supplemented by seed heads, pods and foliage - but it is still a vaseful of the garden now inside the house.

A short post today - I have my folks coming round shortly and we have to sort out all sorts on online stuff they struggle with. Being out in the garden despite the rain and wet dog footprints - certainly has helped.

A dust storm

Stuck in the dining room whilst Himself is scouring channels through layers of old tiles, plaster and brick so we can sink the electrical cables into the wall. Unlike the previous 'make-over' where the tiles were placed DIRECTLY over the cables - which explains a lot about our wobbly walls in the kitchen....

The horrors we keep finding give us new shivers daily, however, what makes it worse - we know who did these 'incredible botch jobs' and he was a builder in the village, used to live in our house .....apparently has only recently retired. How many other houses has he erhm worked on?

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Autumn has crept into the bottom of our garden and sprinkled liberal amounts of fungi.

If they were not so cute I would be despondent at the march on of the seasons towards winter.

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As an antidote - I have been both baking and cooking.

More spicy pumpkin soup to be eaten with crusty bread. And for the first time ever, I saved the seeds, seasoned and roasted them with great success. So much so we have bought a huge bag from a reputable wholesaler and when they land, I shall be roasting them for snacking :)

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I have a 'base' flapjack recipe which I use and just change the 'guest' ingredients, this week's was pecan nut and chia seeds - very tasty, sadly they did not last long. Himself has put in a request for a repeat baking.... I need to be able to see/get to my kitchen first.

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One very fed up dog - she's taken herself off to bed and given up all hope of a walk (silly girl you were out earlier and never mind the construction, it is bucketing it down outside)

Ok, that is my day in a nutshell.  I can see plaster dust swirling out of the kitchen door and hear enthusiastic wall chipping, at least the stone cutter has been switched off - it is both very noisy and a generous dust maker.....

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Not giving up

Last year I painted a series of water colours for chrimbly gifts. Both our sons and their girls have a pair of cats each. So I thought it would be fun to match their cats with a favourite flower or plant and I was rather pleased with the results.

I had issues finding four frames that suited not just the art work, but the owners and their décor however eventually I managed it.

Whilst the gifts were being unwrapped, in the corner of my eye I caught Himself's face and suddenly realised he would have been more than happy to have one of his grumpy cat too and dearly wished I had thought of that before. So I planned that as soon as I could I would paint one just for him.

Then, in February took early retirement and found that I could hardly hold a paintbrush and when I did, the results were not what I was aiming for. So I put away my paints and literally closed the door to my art desk. Fast forward to October and I tried again.....

All my doubts about my work vanished with his delight, I am very aware that I can not paint with the preciseness I used to be able to do, I can not grip a brush with pin point hair by hair painting any more - so I was, to be perfectly honest, disappointed with my efforts. But it appears he certainly wasn't 💗 .

Might not be able to do the teeny tiny paintings that I love doing but will pick up my paint brush a little bit more and get more at ease at the looser style.

Thought provoking

 It was rather dark first thing this morning when I stumbled out of the kitchen door down to the garden for Willow. She scampers off without a care while I need a torch and mutter evil things about my  overgrown garden.

Now, after breakfast and a mug of tea I am feeling a lot more human and can quietly tap away whilst the washing machine and the radio serenade each other in the kitchen. 

Wills is dozing by my feet and I think I will be adding 'wash the dog' to my today's To-do list. She, despite us all yelling Noooooooooooooooooo, paddled in the most revolting pea green soup of a canal for a quick drink.... urgh. 

 It is still incredibly dry and scorched down there and only now, now that summer has ended has South Yorkshire declared a drought situation - surely earlier in the year would have been advisory?

We also visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park at West Bretton on the Saturday as a birthday treat for Himself.

Auke de Vries - the Watchtower

We headed there after lunch as the morning was a bit cool and damp with a frisky wind, which to be honest was very similar to the afternoon weather however as tickets had been purchased and we agreed to wrap up warmly and take flasks of tea. We set off in fine spirits and apart from a rather 'Willow is a menace' moment when she was banished to the van. (Don't worry she had her bed, was wrapped up in her duvet and had a bowl of water) we had a most enjoyable time.

The 10 metre tall Virgin Mother

We worked our way down from the main building and it was interesting to see how varying the reactions were to some of the art works. Damien Hirst's The Virgin Mother is one that Himself and I know and have seen around however the younger four were rather taken aback with one quite revolted by the 'stripped back' half of the sculpture. 

No it isn't pretty however, art is supposed to make you think... question ... love...hate.... what ever - but it is supposed to trigger thought and discussion - so this one certainly did.

We started following the main suggested route however it was rather populated by other visitors, so we soon struck off the central path and followed the less visited ones. Then it became rather more interesting.

We came across a series of 'boxes' that, before I read the description - I felt look like those dreadful solitary confinement torture cages that are used by less savoury governments - then we found the info-board. I was correct.... and the design was inspired by a certain 'first world country'...... used up until very recently and to be honest - probably still being used to 'extract the 'truth' as seen by the victor'.

A detention cage in cold water

The Garden of Good and Evil by Alfredo Jaar - was a very disquieting installation in a typically autumnal English woodland alongside a large boating lake filled with swans. 

It made our group rather less chatty until we'd come out the other side of the woodland and sat on a wooden bench watching the water. 

Behind us were two very differing sculptures. 

Edwin Wurm - Balzac - all about consumerism

Bruce Beasley  - Advocate IV

One I rather liked (despite it not being a style I am particularly fond of) and the other which made me think of graffiti and plaster of Paris. however, art or in this case, sculpture is designed to trigger responses and questions. The Bruce Beasley work was covered in what looked like compass lines and marks which seemed to enliven the rather masculine geometric form.

It was soon after here that Willow just became too difficult to handle, both boys had kindly offered to hold her lead and soon returned her to me, they now realise how hard she is to control on lead. I make her sound like an absolute horror, which she is not - she just pulls and zig zags and back tracks and spins round and pulls and pulls and pulls and no matter how much training we have done, it seems that she is just wilful and her previous life of not being trained to behave on a lead is now making it very hard to actually enjoy taking her for a walk.

Leiko Ikemura - Usagi Kannon ii (Rabbit Madonna)

So, as from today, we are back to square one on the lead, and I will just have to not forgive any transgression until she realises that a nicely behaved-on-the-lead dog gets lovely walks... I will admit to missing out on a lot at the YSP thanks to her bad behaviour and - no more. I either leave her in the car/van/at home or we get better at working together. (I prefer the latter idea but at the moment I am nursing a very tired left hand and sore right thumb hanging on to her lead from yesterday)

The Water Carrier

Elisabeth Frink In Memorandum II

Claye Bowler - Over my Dead Body

JocJonJosch - Eddy

Simon Barlcay - Pittu Pithu Pitoo

Barry Flanagan - Large Nijinski on an anvil point

And my favourite - of the ones I did get to see? Jaume Plense - Wilsis - a fantastically mind bending distorted sculpture that from one angle is a benign almost Mona Lisa smiling face however and to walk around it - it is completely flat. 

I have only shared a small section of the photos I took (also 'pinched a few from the boys 😄) and we only saw a small section of what is on offer at the 500 acre park. 

Told you it was windy!

Please do follow the links - the photos taken by the sculpture park or the artist are in far greater detail or closer than I could ever get. Besides trying to take a half decent image whilst it was blowing a hoolie and hanging on to a dog who wants to head for the horizon - not easy!!