Jupiter and Venus

Both are looking HUGE in the sky at the moment. Although not big enough to show in a photo - even the moon looks tiny then.

We have a cool app called GoSkyWatch for the ipad which you point at the thing in the sky you want to identify and it shows you on a map what it is. Jupiter is the brighter and you can see it here down and right from Venus.

More San Sebastian pictures

Breakfast in the sun

We have had a lot of wet weather recently, so it is nice to see the sun for a while. It gets hot pretty quick as soon as it comes out, so I am sure that soon I will be complaining that it is too hot to do anything.

There are mini croissant on small plat - honest!

Some big birds flew ov to see if they wanted to share (red kites?)

Poppy loves sun bathing

One man went to mow

There is a lot of mowing to do in spring. Doug has been hard at it with both the tractor flail mower and the mini digger one. Some of the drive looks really neat now.

The rest will soon.

We are hoping for a few dry days soon so that we (ie probably Doug unless it is a weekend) can try the hay cutting and turning implements we have for the tractor.

20 years together

Doug and I have been together for 20 years! 

To mark the occasion we have come back to San Sebastian as we loved it so much when we came last year.

I will post some more photos when I get them off the camera.

View from the hotel

Dog enjoying her sofa in the hotel

Pintxos (Basque for tapas) which are one of San Sebastians great attractions

This place (La Vinã) does ammaaaazing cheese cake, which isn't really cheese cacke, more like custard cake. I MUST find the recipe.

The beach. Another major attraction.

Which really tires the dog out

Basically we spend the day getting the dog to run on the beach and play with other dogs and fetch sticks from the surf, so that she is tired enough that she just sleeps when we leave her in the hotel and go on the razzle

Here's to another 20! Love you Doug xx

Is she (are they) pregnant?

Buttercup. 

Flies have just started up. Shame for her but she just tears off any kind of head collar or face thing.

Cows rumens are on the left and calfs tend to show on the right so I read. She does look big out the right. If she is pregnant it is due in about 6 weeks.

Buttercup on left of picture and Bluebell (her daughter) on right. We hope Bluebell is pregnant too, if she is she would be due in September. So about 5 months gone. We wonder whether her udders look a bit bigger than they used to. Apparently heifers (cow that hasn't had a calf) udders change quite early in pregnancy compared to cows that have calved before. You can see Buttercups udders are empty and wrinkly looking.

Bluebells udders again

This is Buttercups udder which I would say has not changed recently, but she has had a few calves before so apparently may not 'bag up' until later in pregnancy.

Bluebell

Buttercup from the side

Buttercup on left of photo, Bluebell on right. Wrong side to studly pregnancy from but they look sweet.

Shearing the sheep

We sheared the Ouessant sheep last weekend. There are seven of them and it took a few hours to get them all done. We are not very speedy or very neat!

It was too bright when I took the photo so you can't see them very clearly. Some if them look rather scruffy but I think they are more comfortable in the warm weather (there was a bit of a cold snap this week which might have made them less grateful). They look quite funny when they have just been done with skinny bodies and necks and huge heads

You can see also our new sheeo hurdles. They made catching them amazingly much easier. We wormed them all too and vaccinated the lambs.

Eating some quail

These male quail were getting quite old so we ate them. I made quail tagine.

They were in a cage that we needed for the young chicks which is why we finally got round to killing them. We have been meaning to since autumn.

New Chickens

We have been meaning for ages to get some chickens that aren't the Marans - for variety, and in the hope they might complement the Marans which lay well over the winter, but less so in the summer.

We went to the market this morning and bought some 'little brown hens'. Not sure what breed they are, the lady who sold them just said they are russet. Not very specific. So far they seem friendly, and one has laid an egg which is a good start.

We still like the Marans of course. The cockeral is magnificant and the eggs a pretty colour (dark brown). One is broody and has hatched a chick, which sadly died - but she didn't stop being broody so we are about to put some more eggs under her. The 10 we hatched in the incubator are doing well. Bit smelly, but growing.

Dougie Dougie how does your garden grow?

Pretty good I would say!

Peas and beans. Some more frames needed. The poor sugar snaps on the middle don't have a support. I think Doug didn't notice they were still alive - and producing fruit! For some reason sugar snaps always seem to do less well than the peas and the mangetout.

Potatoes

Rhubarb

Mirabelle (small sour plums - good for jam and mirabelle gin (like sloe gin)

Recent wet and warm weather has given both plants and weeds a boost. Before Doug strimmed and weeded this looked rather like a hay field with no discernible beds or boundries.

Purple sprouting has gone rather to seed...

Solar panels

They aren't connected up yet, but exciting progress.

We had to get them in before we do the wall insulation so that the pipes and wires are hidden in the insulation

I hope you all voted

I nearly failed to register as I thought I was but it turned out I was not... but then I sorted it out - phew!

My mum always used to stay up all night. That seems overly keen to me - maybe if I didn't have work the next day I would consider it in her memory.

Doug is elegible to vote (as are French people who live in the uk - but unfairly we are not elegible to vote in French elections except local ones) but for whatever reason the registration didn't go through in time for the postal vote. Annoying. Maybe the whole thing will be hanging on one vote!

Sewing lessons

I recently had some sewing lessons.

Cushion cover (which I am planning on making a pad stuffed with sheeps wool)

A bag

and finally a skirt

I now need to practice practice practice. I am hoping to find time to make another skirt soon. Also less excitingly hem some curtains and make a new cover for the sofa in the London flat.

More London Photos

The Golden Hind

Tower of London

Rhoda

Tower Bridge

St.Kathrines Dock

The White Tower

Armour in the White Tower

Horse made from wood originally for displaying armour on - but now displayed in its own right.

The guards

Tate Modern

c

Sonia Delaunay

View from the Tate Modern

The wheel

The British Museum

Inside the British Museum

An Asyrian carving (there ar lots of them, and they are our favorite things in the BM - what is he doing with his lemon and handbag?)

The Elgin Marbles. Always makes me think of a Georgette Heyer book where some poor bloke is offended at being dragged to see them because they are all rubbish and broken (Cotillion I think)

Pub in Camden which used to be grotty old mans pub for late night drinkin but has now smartened up

Chinese Boat restaurant in Camden. Yummy crispy duck! The boat is called something like The Feng Shang Princess