Gum Valley Patchwork

It's getting closer......

Yes I'm talking about the 2017 Stitch in Spring. While I can still say it's not until next month......this makes me feel a little better......it is now under 3 weeks until 128 excited ladies converge on the Port Campbell Surf Club. Our Tutors, Anni Downs and Melissa Grant are putting last minute touches to their projects while I am busy doing all of the behind the scenes work that will make for an enjoyable day of stitching and fun.......which will hopefully run smoothly! I have finished off the bags, made the table centre flowers, sorted out the table arrangements, and completed all of the 137 name badges.......even one for our smallest 'helper' this year.......Madeline. Unfortunately......or fortunately according to Emma!.....Georgia won't be attending, the active 2 1/2 year old will be having quality time with her father.....lol.

I have also put together the Stitch in Spring Newsletter for all those who are attending. Please click on the link below to download it.

Download 2017 Stitch in Spring Newsletter

I will also be emailing and messaging it out to everyone (providing I have your contact details) in the next day or two, so apologies if you get it more than once. I don't know who reads my blog! Please also feel free to forward it on to any of your fellow attendees who are not on social media etc.

Linda    :)

Growing, growing, grown.

There hasn't been much action in the Hot House since we put it up and I planted out the 2 beds. Lettuce in one with a few bean and zucchini seeds, and strawberries in the other.

Most of my gardening efforts have been concentrated around the huge pile of mulch in the carpark and getting the outside garden whipped back into shape. While the zucchini seed failed to germinate......it must have been the seed.......half of the beans popped through. The lettuce didn't miss a beat and the strawberries started to flower.

A few wayward slugs cleaned up a couple of the beans and one of the lettuce so bait was needed. We have had a few feeds off the lettuce but I think that we might need to start eating more of it the way that it is growing!

I'm watching the strawberries but they will still be a few weeks away from being ripe. Next week's job is to plant my tomato, capsicum, and lettuce seed ready for the warmer weather......which hopefully won't be too far away.

Linda     :)

An Ag Show of epic proportions

On the conclusion of Russell's Cider making course, participants were offered tickets to the local Agricultural Show which was being held on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. As we were flying out on the Friday evening from Heathrow we thought that it would be great to visit on our way back to London. The Royal Three Counties Show covers the shires of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Gloustershire.

Before I go any further I have to warn you all that this will be another blog post with lots and lots of photos. Being involved with our own Heytesbury Show I was interested to see all of the different activities and areas that were on display.....so the camera got a good work out!

There were local produce stalls....if only we weren't leaving the country.

There was a whole big marque dedicted to Bees and anything bee related.

Live bees.....information about bees.....

Bee equipment.....cooking with honey......bees wax products.....craft work....

There was another marque for Boer Goats and another for milking goats

And another one for a massive orchid display, competition and stalls.

The displays were beautiful

and winners were even more so

There was no mistaking what was in the next marque as the noise and cackling gave it away.

Some of the breeds were familiar.....I used to have some of these Silver Seabright Bantams years ago

While others weren't familiar but I found myself relating to them.....lol!

I was blown away by the egg competition

There was a collection of vintage tractors

and even a display by the Historic Caravan Club

A Black Smithing relay competition was yet another highlight........making the horse shoe and then putting it on the horse.

On one of the smaller arenas they had a duck herding dog.......to the great amusement of the masses of school children in attendance.

It was followed up by a Birds of Prey display........the Vulture was a little less pretty than the Falcon but still amazing to watch.

The local Police were there

You could make and ride your own billy cart around the hay bale course

And racing of a different sort.....pony and cart....a little lot faster than the billy carts!

An Ag Show isn't an Ag Show with livestock. I don't think that I have ever seen so many different breeds of sheep in my life......lots that I have never even heard of too......like these huge black ones

Love the colour of these.......not sure of their breed though.

You can't have a show in Herefordshire without these fellows

In one of the many food pavilions there was a large display area of cider.......for tasting and buying.

There was also a competiton

with judging taking place while we were there

It's serious business, and unlike wine tasting when you swill and spit, cider tasting involves swallowing. I'm sure if this was me I would've been under the table by now!

So there you have it......our first and possibly last visit to an English Ag Show......and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. There was not one single show bag in sight and only one whizzy ride for the kids, which was lovely to see. It was truly an Ag Show at it's best......something that the Royal Melbourne could strive to become....again.

So we left the showgrounds behind us, with the next task to confront us.....now where did we park the car?

Linda    :)

 

A historic home for bees

While some of Russell's classes were held at the Orchard Centre others were done at the Dominican Chapel in the grounds of the Hartpury Agricultural College.

Beside the Chapel there was the Church

Around the Church were the graves of many.......old and new

And out the back, behind the Church and the graves was this Bee Shelter

The Hartpury Bee Shelter is said to be the only one of it's kind in the world.

You can read about it here

or here

A truly amazing structure.

Linda     :)

Poldark Country

I seem to have skipped past the bit of our stay in England where we had our weekend trip to Cornwall. I was on a mission to see if I could visit Captain Ross and Demelza.

It was a little misty so the photos weren't great but we could certainly appreciate the beauty of the area, including the foxgloves which were in full bloom.

Seaside villages

Many historic mines scattered around the coast line.

But alas no Ross or Demelza

We even checked down at the beach.

It was a shame that the weather wasn't great, and that we only had a day and a half in Cornwall before we had to head back to Newent.  I will just have to get my Cornwall fix by watching Poldark......but not until next year now!

Linda    :)

Birds of the feathered variety

While Russell was off doing the chemistry side of his Cider Making course I spent a glorious sunny English day at the International Centre for Birds of Prey, just out of Newent. How fantastic it was to have a world class facility about 15 minutes from where we were staying. I arrived just in time for the morning flight session with 4 different birds of prey being taken out and flown.

It was a great experience that I really enjoyed, although the birds were a little nervous as there was a Buzzard nesting over on the edge of the field and the birds certainly knew that they were about. This little fellow was particularly  nervous......a little burrowing owl who kept popping in and out of the hill of burrows in the background.

There are over 60 species at the Centre which has been open to the public for 50 years.

Jemima Parry-Jones is the Director and was amazing to listen to. So much so that I decided to return for the afternoon session, watching four Kestrels catching food and feeding on the wing was special. The dogs, which wander the park thought that it was a bit warm and needed to cool off in the pond.

The Centre has done amazing work in the conservation and breeding area, and it was great to see them up close.

Especially this little fellow who was being looked after in the reception area as I left.

Another lovely day in the English countryside!

Linda    :)

Better than Bunnings

I have two favourite stores.........Ikea and Bunnings. If it wasn't for the distance thing I would be adding a third to my list........The Three Shires Garden Centre. This gem was only about a kilometre up the road from where we were staying in Newent.

I spent about 2 hours walking around the centre

Inside there was a gift shop, clothing shop, toys and books, a cafe and a restaurant,  and even a 'bottle shop' area.....I was tossing up between a Slack Alice and a Thundering Molly.

In the undercover area there were seedlings and plants in polystyrene boxes

all ready to put in the garden for instant colour

and outside everything else you needed for the garden.

I knew that I wasn't able to purchase any plants or even packet of seeds, so I had to be content with some gifts, plant ties, and a bright yellow rain coat. I was taken aback by the price of these rocks.........a border around my garden beds would cost a fortune!

Linda    :) 

Hidcote and Kiftsgate

If you are not into gardens then look away now.

If you love gardens and flowers......then this is the post for you........but be warned there are lots of photos coming, but I promise not too many words!

I dropped Russell off at his class and I hit the road........I was on a day trip to visit some gardens. The first stop was Hidcote Manor Garden which was at the Village of Hidcote Bartim near Chipping Campden. No sat nav made it challenging to drive there on my own.....I only got beeped once and lost once so that wasn't too bad! I made it just as the gardens were opening to the public and before the buses started to roll in. It was a stunning garden and I wandered around for about 2 hours taking in all that it had to offer.

A trimmed Holly tree

Climbing plants and a thatched roof

Beds full of plants

Gorgeous green archways

Miles of clipped hedges

and trees

Even bumble bees on the Astrantia

and ants helping to protect plants from the less desirables

The Vegetable garden was huge

...but wait there's more

and I loved this idea for climbing beans

I left Hidcote and headed back down the drive and just across the road to another beautiful garden called Kiftsgate.

A smaller garden but full of interesting areas. This view is looking back up to the house from the pool, you can see the Summer house set in the side of the hill.

Inside the house I enjoyed a late lunch before heading back out into the garden.

The flowerbeds were full of colour

I particularly loved these little lillies

and I took down the details of this plants as I really really want one for my garden

Another lovely shot of the house

But check out these Peonies.....there were lots scattered through the gardens and they were beautiful.

I left Hidcote Bartrim and headed back to Hartpury in time to pick Russell up from Day 2 of his course. I was full of inspiration and ideas for my own garden, if only I had a team of gardeners working for me......lol!

So that's how I filled in one of my days without Russell. The first day was spent doing the laundry in Ledbury, so that wasn't very exciting. Back tomorrow with some other solo adventures.

Linda     :)

On to England......and cider

We said goodbye to beautiful Ireland and flew back to England to spend 8 days in the Gloucester area in the South West of England. Why this part of England? Well we were there for Russell to attend a 5 day Cider Making course at the Orchard Centre in nearby Hartpury.

We stayed at a private Golf Club in Newent, and it was my job to drive Russell to and from his course each day. That then meant that I had the hire car to fill in my days as I wanted to......but more of that in another blog post.....or two. The first day of the course was all to do with the growing of the trees and the horticultural side of apples. A visit to a four year old orchard was a little bit disheartening for Russell as it showed how poorly our own trees were growing......even though we thought otherwise.

But then again our climate and exposure were greatly different to theirs, and on returning home we have had soil tests done to see how we can improve this situation, which is a positive step. 

After a weekend off it was back to class on the Monday, along with other 18 students from all over the globe. Russell was keen to learn and improve his knowledge base on how to make his own cider better......and that he did, ten fold and more. He actually took more photos on his camera during the course than on the whole 14 day trip in Ireland.....lol! He came home with photos of a cider press that he is going to make.

Vats that will hold more than his current 30 litre drums

and bags in boxes for one of the final stage in the process.

So here's to a brighter future for Russell's brew......and I look forward to taste testing some of the results!

Linda     :)

 

Our last night

It is a cold, wet and very windy day here so the gardening has been put on hold and I am inside catching up on paperwork and computer work.....which includes blogging. I have decided to get back to some holiday posts, so over the next few days you will be reading more about our holidays. Today I am writing about our last night in Ireland, and being part of a tour group that always means going out as a group and having a great time together. This, for our group, meant going to the famous Bunratty Castle in Limerick.

We were entertained by these fair maidens while we waited to be seated for our banquet.

I spent most of my time admiring the beautiful old tapestries hanging around the room.

Then off we went to be seated......drinking our soup from the bowl, eating our main with just a knife and our fingers......with plenty to drink thrown in.

With more singing and fun.

But what really made this night special was the memories it brought back from a visit to the Aussie version some 36 years ago. Russell, his fellow apprentices and the girlfriends (including me) used to go out every few months as a group. We once attended a Bunratty Castle Show........similar to Dirty Dicks...... in Melbourne and had a great time. I know that I have mentioned it before and featured this photo of me in one of my TBT posts.

But I didn't show this one of Russell......

Complete with our Bunratty Castle bibs! Fun times and great memories from both nights.

Linda     :)