Summer Solstice

What a strange year it’s been, it seems like a lifetime ago that we were watching wildfires sweep across Australia on the news and worrying about Brexit, yet here we are halfway through 2020. It’s been a quick year for us personally as our daughter arrived in early February and caring for her has kept us busy during the last few months when a global pandemic turned life upside down.

Our garden has also been a real blessing and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve been able to get done with a baby in tow.

June Roses

June is the month that the roses burst into flower, and since we moved here I’ve been steadily filling our garden with them. There’s the rich red wine coloured Munstead Wood, the bold pink Young Lycidas, and pale sunshine of Crown Princess Margareta. Meanwhile Boscobel is patiently waiting in a large pot for a permanent home.

Every year I vastly underestimate how much space growing vegetables need so I limited myself to broccoli, squash and yellow courgettes this year; then my dad surprised us with some cabbage, cauliflower and sprouts seedlings he’d started off so the veg beds are as crowded with higgledy piggeldy rows of vegetables as ever.

We’re still getting out for walks at least once a day, more often than not with the wee one in the sling or carrier so she can look around. We haven’t ventured out of our local area yet but I enjoy having a nosy at other people’s gardens, and we found a little woodland walkway when we wandered off the beaten track.

On days when it’s too wet to spend much time outside, we’ve contented ourselves pottering around the home, reading books or watching films and TV series, and playing with the wee one – including a few spontaneous puppet shows.

There have been more visits to and from parents and in-laws, which have helped break the monontony and given us all a much-needed boost as we remain under partial lockdown. Our daughter has been very curious about the “new” faces appearing after spending so much time around me and her dad.

Hope everyone reading is safe and well, take care and have a lovely week. X

Emerging from Lockdown

We’re tentatively emerging from lockdown in our part of the world. Although some of the restrictions have been lifted, life has continued for us much the same as it has for the past few months, we shop for food once a week, my husband will continue to work from home for the foreseeable future, we take our daily walks for exercise, and my only other excursions have been taking our daughter to various health appointments.

This weekend though we were finally reunited with my parents and I was so glad to spend some time with them after three months apart, though it was very strange not to be able to hug or kiss them, or let them hold the baby. As much as I miss haircuts, libraries, dining out, the freedom to come and go as we please, and all the other aspects of life I took for granted before, being cut off from our family and friends has been by far the hardest part.

Emerging from Lockdown2

It was a bittersweet reunion as our daughter has spent most of her life under lockdown, and the last time her grandparents saw her was at my nanna’s funeral when she was a tiny, sleepy 5-week-old, since then she’s grown into a chubby, curious and cheerful 4-month-old. Yet I know how lucky we are to be reunited at all when so many other families are mourning loved ones who lost their lives to Covid-19.

One benefit of the lockdown has been that my husband has been able to work from home, which has given us time together as a family that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We’ve settled into our roles as parents, found a daily rhythm that works for all of us, and our daughter is healthy and content.

Throughout the lockdown, I’ve been very grateful for our garden, which has given us another environment to explore with our daughter full of sensory experiences while other activities are unavailable. The garden itself is full of life and colour at the moment.

We try to make our garden as wildlife friendly as possible, even so I’m always delighted by how many different types of bee visit the garden, and it’s fun trying to identify them all. We also heard the hedgehog snuffling around the hedge one day while we were outside so we left a bowl of water and some cat food out for it (don’t tell Mara!), though I’m wary of getting too close for fear of fleas and ticks.

Even though restrictions are starting to relax, while the virus remains a threat it’s hard to imagine life going back to the way it was before, and impossible to imagine what the year ahead will look like with all our plans from significant birthdays, friends’ weddings and other events we were looking forward to postponed or cancelled altogether, yet I’m so relieved that we’ve all weathered this storm and a little normality has started to resume. Take care, and have a lovely week. X

Rainbows and Scenes from Lockdown

Raimbows

Our world has shrunk since the lockdown began nine weeks ago, and life now revolves around our daughter, the garden and daily walks around the local area.

Despite the lockdown, life at home is bright and colourful as our nearly 4 month old daughter is alert, curious and animated, amusing us everyday with exaggerated yawns, sighs and sneezes, and delighting us with big, gummy grins and babbling.

Toys

Over the last few weeks we’ve been playing with rainbow ribbons that help with her visual development as she tracks movement and fine motor skills by grabbing them. I use a set of soft blocks as a visual and tactile prop when I make animal noises or sing ‘Old McDonald Had a Farm‘ – though I’ve no idea what sound a tortoise makes or what one is doing on a farm. We’ve also been watching colourful propellers spin in the wind in the the garden. Simple penguin and polar bear finger puppets have also been a hit with our daughter smiling and babbling at them like they’re little friends.

I haven’t been able to join any baby groups but a few friends had their babies just before and after me, and it’s been great to have some peer support, share experiences and ask for advice from other new mums albeit through messages and calls.

We’re missing getting out to beaches and the countryside but still enjoying wandering around the neighbourhood for some exercise almost every day whatever the weather with the wee one in the pram or sling – depending on her mood.

In addition to the rainbows and chalk art we’ve seen decorating windows, fences and pavements, we spotted a Lime Hawk Moth on one of our walks recently, a reminder that nature is carrying on oblivious to the pandemic. We also had an exciting nocturnal visitor in the garden this week, a hedgehog!

One of our neighbours dropped off a homemade stained glass leaf as a little gift, which I’ve hung in the living room. We’ve really appreciated chatting to our neighbours from a safe distance over the garden fence, a little bit of face-to-face contact and community spirit that I value so much more now than before the lockdown.

Shelf

I’m missing our families and friends terribly, but I’m so thankful for the technology that makes it possible to keep in contact, and phone and videocalls have become a regular part of life under lockdown that help to bridge the distance with loved ones until we can meet in person again.

Hope everyone reading is safe and well. Take care. X

Bursting with New Growth and Colour

AprilGarden

April is one of my favourite months as it usually feels like winter has finally receded and spring has sprung. It’s been a month full of blue skies, sunshine and warmth, and our little garden is bursting with new growth and colour.

Last autumn, I planted bulbs for some early spring cheer, though my planting was a bit haphazard so there are clusters and gaps that I’ll try to fill in next autumn. The Narcissus Apotheosis have flowered and I love the two-tone swirl of petals, but I was a little underwhelmed by Narcissus ‘Rip Van Winkle’, which are pretty but don’t last long.

There are tall, bold ‘Red Impression’ tulips in the bamboo border, and fabulous ‘China Pink’ tulips in the flowerbed, but I’m still waiting for any of my favourite fiery orange ‘Ballerina’ tulips to flower.

In previous years, we’ve filled the flowerbed with annuals and wildflowers, but last year we planted some perennials and it’s paying off as the hardy Geraniums, Geum, Potentilla and Aquilegia have all grown back and their foliage is a welcome change to bare earth.

Geum ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ has already burst into flower, and the first flower on the Geranium ‘Blue Sabani’ has opened with many more buds promising colour for months ahead. As you can probably tell, whites and pastels are wasted on me and I’ve filled the garden with bright tones.

As the lockdown wears on and the novelty of being housebound wears off, I feel incredibly grateful for our little garden. More so than ever the garden has become a place to sit and gather my thoughts or to lose myself in some seasonal task during these extraordinary times we’re living through. Take care. X

Unravel and Bloom ~ Early Spring in the Garden

Daffodils

Over the last few weeks I’ve been glued to the news as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded and changed our lives beyond recognition. While we’ve been following guidance to stay at home, I’ve been grateful for our little garden, which gives us an escape whenever we start to feel a bit claustrophobic in our house.

Although our lives have been interrupted, nature and spring have carried on oblivious to the pandemic. We have a long winter here in Scotland, and I always appreciate the earliest flowers in the garden reminding us that spring and change are on the way. There were a scattering of delicate Snowdrops in January, quickly followed by the glamourous Iris Reticulata ‘Pauline’. The Tete-A-Tete Daffodils started flowering at the start of this month, and now at the end the Narcissus Apotheosis are just about to unravel and bloom.

Daffodils2

Regardless of what’s going on in our lives or the rest of the world, the birds in our garden need to be fed, the grass cut, weeds pulled and seeds sown – and these simple activities help to provide a little bit of distraction, purpose and normality in these strange and scary times. Hoping everyone reading is safe and well. X

After the Storms…

Rouken Glen

Almost consecutive storms have battered the country over the last few weeks, though we’ve been very lucky to miss the worst of the weather. The storms have given us an excuse to stay snuggled up at home with our newborn daughter, but we’ve managed to get out for coffees and short walks with the wee one in the pram whenever there’s been a break in the bad weather.

At this time of year, every budding flower and foraging squirrel is a welcome sign that spring is just around the corner and nature is waking up from hibernation.

In our own front garden, hellebores I bought reduced at the end of their season last year have flowered and are brightening up some very dreary days. While inside our home, a cutting I took from a Himalayan honeysuckle plant has rooted and new growth has appeared much to my delight.

The days are already noticeably lighter – if not yet warmer – and I’m very much looking forward to getting out more in the garden and further afield in Spring. Have a lovely week. X

Walking with Dinosaurs

LostWorlds

Of all the nocturnal light shows competing for visitors across the country, the Giant Lanterns of China at Edinburgh Zoo is definitely worth wrapping up and venturing out on a winter evening to see. This was our third time visiting the Giant Lanterns of China, and while previous years have focused on Chinese Astrology and Scottish and Chinese Myths and Legends, this year the theme was on the Lost Worlds of the Prehistoric Eras and was probably the best yet.

Wrapped up in boots and winter coats, with cold hands curled around cups of hot chocolate, we enjoyed wandering (or in my case waddling!) around the displays and learning about the different prehistoric eras from the infamous Jurassic era all the way up to the marsupial and ice ages. I’m always impressed by the scale and details of the lanterns with their feathers, spines, teeth, eyes, expressions and shading.

I have mixed feelings about zoos, but this event always reminds me of the valuable conservation work that Edinburgh Zoo does, as well as raising awareness that we must all do whatever we can to prevent other endangered species from extinction in our lifetimes. Have a lovely week. X

EndangeredSpecies

Shades of November

Shades of November1

Usually by this point in the season, most of the fiery red, amber and gold leaves have fallen and faded to rusty shades of orange and chocolate browns, but November is still beautiful in a slightly more muted and sombre way.

I had some time to myself recently, and determined to get out during daylight to absorb some much needed Vitamin D, fresh air and gentle exercise, I pulled on my boots, gloves and coat, and took a wander around our local park. I spent a happy hour or so just meandering along the paths, snapping photos, collecting leaves to press and just thoroughly enjoying some time in nature.

It’s been a cold and frosty autumn in our part of the country, but very much appreciating the last few weeks of colour before the trees shed the last of their leaves, winter arrives in earnest and the build up to Christmas begins. Have a lovely week. X

Lights, Frights and Other Happenings

Halloween Happenings

October has been a cold month in our part of the country, there have already been several frosty mornings spent de-icing the cars and cosy evenings in front of the wood burning stove, and we’re bracing ourselves for another cold winter ahead.

Halloween Happenings2

We took a wrapped up wander down to the Glasgow Botanic Gardens this week, which was hosting GlasGLOW for the second year in a row. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this light and sound show as much as last year as it lacked a cohesive theme and the displays were spread too far apart so visitors were herded along unlit paths between different sections, but I was delighted that there were vegan marshmallows to toast and I loved seeing all the carved lanterns in the pumpkin patch.

We also had a bit of a fright on Wednesday morning when I got bumped into by the car behind during rush-hour traffic. The other driver was very apologetic, and after swapping details, and a quick trip to the maternity assessment unit (and the reassurance of hearing our little one’s heartbeat), I’m relieved to report we’re all ok.

Halloween Happenings6

We’ve even managed to spend a wee bit of time in the garden, weeding, pruning and planting lots of spring bulbs, but we’re gradually settling into our winter routines with Mara stretched out in front of the fire and hubby playing games on the Switch while I catch up on reading, enjoying all the comforts and coziness of our home as the evenings lengthen and the weather worsens. Have a lovely week. X

The Enchanted Forest ~ Lighting Up Dark Nights

The Enchanted Forest

Last weekend we made our annual jaunt to Pitlochry for the Enchanted Forest, which remains one of our favourite traditions, and a seasonal midpoint marking the transition into the colder, darker months of the year.

The theme this year was ‘Cosmos’, inspired by the skies above the forest and commemorating 50 years since astronauts walked on the moon. Now in its 18th year (and this was our 8th year visiting), it still impresses me that the creative team continue to explore new ideas and technologies, never content to just repeat what they’ve done before, and always striving to make it an immersive and interactive experience.

EFCosmos3

EFCosmos4

It’s so refreshing and restorative to have a night away at this time of year, from watching the scenery change as we cross the country with trees lining the roads already various shades of red, amber and gold, to treading the familiar paths around an illuminated Faskally Woods, pausing to take photos and appreciate the displays, sipping hot chocolate and treating ourselves to a little Christmas decoration from the merchandise stall, before returning to the hotel for a well-earned rest and waking up to marmalade on toast and porridge with honey for breakfast.

The Enchanted Forest is the first of a few seasonal activities we’ve got planned over the next couple of months, and as the nights draw in and life moves indoors, it’s lovely to wrap up warm and get outside for events like this that light up the long, dark nights. Have a lovely week. X

Lovely and Grateful

Surviving on coffee and catnaps

Tag: Photography