Hacked

Hazel's bedroom is receiving a budget makeover. So the dull Ikea malm chest of drawers got hacked, I am not sure why they call it hacking when you revamp Ikea furniture, it sounds so naughty...anyway, the flooring got attacked with a paintbrush (modelled by our frequently naked in the summer heat Bear)...



and, lot's of handmade decor is underway, so much fun!



sprry for the fuzzy photos, these were taken on my phone, more (less fuzzy) soon!

The Walk

The Bear likes to take a walk most day's. He wears his sister's boots and his favourite witch's hat.



His first stop is Saffie the horse



Then maybe a little rest





Then the searching begins....



it can take a while to find the perfect rock





Finally.....



Off he goes, carrying it proudly aloft



To show his friends, the cows. He shouts them from the fence, "Cow! Look! Cow!"



Today they are too pre-occupied to say hello, he is a little dissapointed





So he throws the stone into the field, for them to see later



and hat in hand, home he goes



Collecting a little something for his sister on his way



I am merely a casual observer on these walks, carrier of discarded hats and occasional hand holder. He leads the way, chooses the route, and decides when it is time to leave. My little explorer, and friendly one, he does love those cows so.

a Field Trip

Miss Boo and I took a wee field trip together, sketchbooks and pencils in hand, we were seeking out thistles and other wild pretties...





We talked alot about how they looked, we looked at them for a really long time...









We drew what we saw....







and admired blue skies...



Miss Boo decided that she likes drawing wild flowes rather alot, and blue skies, and field trips, and quiet sketchbook time with her mama, and I am rather inclined to agree, field trips with little ones and sketchbooks, AND blue skies, whatever could be better?

Moon Visitor

No one is sure why a moth is driven to light, it is thought that it navigates by moonlight and in the absence of moonlight, she looks for the next best thing.

Even at the risk of losing her life, the moth is determined to follow her moon lit path.

The moon is her mother, and she will follow her at all cost.
She is vulnerable to harm, but she keeps going....

This elephant hawk moth flew through my window and settled upon a lampshade, mesmerising.

Raspberry Thieves

We have some rather lovely Raspberry canes at River Cottage, beside a sweet little blackcurrant bush. I was most pleased to make this discovery after moving in, being as we consume vast amounts of raspberry jam, and nothing tastes better than the homemade variety.

However, there are trecherous raspberry thieves on the loose. Each afternoon, upon our return from work and nursery, I visit said canes and find them quite bare, when only the previous evening I had spied plenty of sweet raspberries, almost ripe, and thought how lovely it would be to pick them the next day to make some jam.

I have looked about for possible culprits. Wee ones in tow, we looked for tracks or sneaky clues which may lead us to a vast haul of raspberries. Alas, no tracks or clues were found. Boo and Bear assure me it must be rabbits, because they are greedy animals and like raspberries very much. My wee ones even stand right beside the canes, guarding them from further ambush.

I commented upon their surprisingly red moustaches, but was assured this was merely a clever guise with which to deter said greedy rabbits and other beastly robbers of raspberries, and nothing at all to do with the actual consumption of raspberries, as one might first conclude.

I think they must be right about the rabbits, for right at the top of the canes just a few raspberries remained, and we all know small rabbits cannot stretch so high. So my single bowl of raspberries and a few blackcurrants made just 1.5 pots of jam.





The strawberries are ripening nicely too, now the sun has arrived, but Boo and Bear offered to guard them aswell, just in case the berry thief should strike again. I was assured that rabbits do no like tomatoes or peas, so these should not require guarding. Thank goodness for that, and for little guards!

* To make jam, weigh the (any) fruit and boil wih equal weight in sugar, when a set is achieved (a small blob of the jam on a plate wrinkles when pushed with finger), decant into sterilised jars and consume spread on warm buttered toast or stirred into hot porridge. Simple!