Birthday party

We went for lunch with a good friend today to help her celebrate her birthday. The weather was sunny and we were able to eat outside in her lovely garden.

Her 4 hens were happily wandering around the garden.

A lot of her flowers were still in bloom particularly the roses.

The apples looked very tempting.

Despite a large lunch nobody turned down the cake!

Rams

When I walked with a plastic bag in my hand through the field where the rams are they were keen to follow me. A bag of feed is used to move the sheep which they invariably will follow.

We have three rams that are all pedigree Charolais. They are not the most attractive but we find that a good lamb is produced with the Suffolk cross ewes as this family snap portrays of dad , mum and lamb!

The rams are having a bit of a rest at the moment with a few ewes who had very late lambs and the pet lambs.

They will be be put back to work at the beginning of November ready for lambing in April.

Around Stourhead

My walking group went for a walk around the Stourhead Estate today. This consisted of a walk around the parkland.

Two of the monuments that we passed were of particular interest to those with us from Bristol. The walk information told us a little bit about the Bristol High Cross. 

We learnt that the cross constructed in 1373 was given to Henry Hoare of Stourhead by the Dean of Bristol in 1780. It has adorned the entrance to the garden since then.

The general feeling in our group was why had it been removed from Bristol and it's original position at the junction of High St, Broad St, Wine St and Corn St. However it seems that the people of Bristol found this monument nothing but a nuisances and after several moves in Bristol it was removed to its pesent position.

Further on we passed the St Peter's Pump which marks the source of the river Stour. This monument also originates from Bristol.

In the picturesque Stourton Village.

We had a wander around the churchyard and wondered about the origins of the grave depicting a Scull and Crossbones.

Bridesmaids

I pulled our wedding album out today to look at.These ones of our bridesmaids made me smile taken 21 years ago today.

They are all grown up ladies themselves now.

Zoom In on Sunflowers

I am joining in Helena's  ZIZO 35 today. I always like to grow some sunflower plants. I love their big yellow heads. They always grow quite tall due to the position they grow in. They tend to draw up towards the sun. This year I had one that tried to peep over the stables!

How bright they are against the sky! So aptly named.

Heat on the way

The new Biomass boiler is in place and was lit today for a test. 

Smoke was coming out the chimney but I am assured that this will be minimal when it is fully running. 

Next step is to connect it to our central heating systems.

Iced water

The whole of Facebook is going mad at the moment with Ice Bucket Nominations in aid of the Charity ALS which as far as I understand is also known as Motor Neurone Disease. The girls here are always game for a challenge so there was a lot of water splashed around today. Not really necessary as it rained all day.

 Kate went first

Rapidly followed by Emma.

And then it was my turn!

The flour was an added extra. I am still pulling it out my hair despite a good wash!

 If you would like to help  You can donate here to Motor Neurone Disease. 

You can donate here

Turkish Delight Plums

Some of the Victoria plums have now been picked. There is however a limit to how many you can eat raw!

A recipe that I found last year lightly poaches the plums in rosewater flavoured syrup.

This delicious dish is out of a cook book that I originally bought for Kate when she was doing GCSE catering. Real Food Real Fast is written by the teenage chef Sam Stern. It has some great recipes and I now use it regularly.

On the subject of GCSEs Emma had her results last Thursday. We are delighted with how well she did. The congratulatory cards have come rolling in.

Blackberry and Apple Pie

The Bramley apples in our garden are looking good this year. Following on from yesterday they certainly fit:-

"To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;" The apples are not quite ripe yet but I have used a few fallers and will now start to pick some pas I want them. Now all that was needed was some blackberries. Blackberries always look so good and taste so delicious so why do they always grow in the middle of a nettle bed? Not that Monty seemed to mind. Still he left me enough to take home. Now to get baking. Just the tops left to put on.

Mellow fruitfulness

It may still be August but there is a chill in the air at times. The swallows are collecting on the wires and the tree branches are heavy with fruit. Not many people can walk past our Victoria Plum tree without reaching for a plum. I blogged the blossom earlier in the year and now the fruit is ready.

The fruit look very tempting and I have already picked quite a few. 

It's tempting to try and pick the plum out of the picture!

Zoom in Zoom Out on a Wasp Nest

Joining in with Helenas  ZIZO week 34. My mother discovered a large wasp nest in the garden in a bush. The wasps were being quite a pest so were destroyed. The nest was quite big and it was fascinating to see how it was made. The nest had broken apart when it was touched.

 

The cells make an intricate pattern.