Monday 13 May 2013

Pot of Gold

Today we have had really heavy showers on and off all day - hail stones at times! But driving back home along the lane tonight, through yet another storm, there was a beautiful rainbow.

In fact it was a double rainbow.....
.... and it seemed to land right in the field near the house - the countryside around us is definitely our pot of gold!

Tuesday 7 May 2013

A little find in the garden

We were at J's mums house this weekend, working in the garden - a good bank holiday weekend job, especially as the weather was gorgeous! Anyway, just checking the garden and putting the tools away, I saw some glass glinting and went to pick it up, so we or the dog didn't cut ourselves - but it was actually a tiny bottle - still intact. On closer inspection it was a bottle of 'Crosby's Balsamic Cough Elixir', the name was clearly on the side.

It actually looked like a little bottle from Alice in Wonderland, and just needed a 'drink me' tag hanging from it. It's only about 4" long.

I was quite intrigued, so decided to have a little look on the web to see if I could find out a little about the Elixir. It seems it could potentially be quite old, as I found an advert here, which was dated 1876, but there is no indication which magazine the advert was in.  I found another reference in the Queen Mary, University of London archives  in the Palace Journal, dated September 17th 1890. The bottles apparently are collectable - but there are lots around. There is even a bottle digging organisation!

Friday 3 May 2013

Lunch with friends

Each month, or depending how busy people are every couple of months, a group of friends get together for lunch. We all used to work together in the same office, but when our Department was closed we all went different ways - some moved into different Departments, others moved jobs or became self employed, I retired - but we have kept a close bond and it is so nice to get together for a catch up and we all value each others continued friendship.
Sometimes we go to a cafe or a garden centre for lunch, but the last few occasions we have gone to someones home and we have each taken some food along - a 'Jacobs join'. 
Today, I remembered to take my camera so I could capture the feast. We never really discuss what food we will bring along, but it's amazing how well it always fits together - I suppose it's years of working along side each other. Good food and good company, such a lovely way to spend an afternoon!

Thursday 2 May 2013

View from my window - April

At the beginning of the April the grass was still looking a little dead, but there were signs that the hawthorne was beginning to get a touch of new green.
I was then away from home for a week in Devon, and when I came back - everywhere was looking much greener. We had had a little rain and the temperature had risen so it felt warmer, and now we can almost see the grass growing!
An evening shot with the sun going down, making the grass look even more intense in colour.
As well as the hawthorne leaves appearing, in the middle distance I can now see the bright green of the larch trees coming and the red/brown of the silver birch before the leaves show.
The two little lambs above are waiting for their mum to come back, as she had escaped onto the old railway embankment through the fence. They tried to follow her but couldn't quite make it, and after lots of baa-ing, they settled down together to wait - she did eventually return!
The grass is even growing again at the top of the hill now.

Lets hope everything continues to catch up in May!