Rain, rain, please go away!

Oh my goodness the rain has been Biblical these last few weeks. I've been drenched on most of my runs and even decided not to do an ultra event I'd been looking to do for ages! Actually that turned out to be a good plan as people were complaining about the state ot the route which took them across sodden ploughed fields and they even had to get soaked feet trying to cross a river using stepping stones that were underwater! So I'm now trying to catch up on tidying up the garden. Our land is on heavy clay so I don't dig it in the Autumn, just tidy up the plants and bushes and leave lots of places for insects to make their nests.I alway save the stems of woody plants that have open stems which are perfect for creating an insect habitat.

Moving on

Well that's that and SVN running events are no more. The end of an era and it will seem very strange without Rachel and Tills. It was a sad day when we all said our goodbyes to them but I know Rachel will come back to share some miles with us in Long distance walking events (LDWA). As I started typing this update I realised that I hadn't shown my lovely medals from the 10 marathons in 10 days event I took part in last year, so here they are:

I also agained a new 'milestone' tee shirt which I love:

It was somewhat eventful in that on day 7 of the 10 days I was tripped up by a dog on one of those long leads. Unfortunately, the owner was not responsible or in conmtrol of the dog and he failed to stop the dog from chasing me and it pushed me to the ground, flat on my face - OUCH! As I picked myself up he was just wandering off in a different direction, completely unaware of the trouble he'd caused. 2 of my friends chased after him and remonstrated with him but he didn't seem fully 'with-it'. As I picked myself up I knew my jaw hurt and sadly I lost 4 teeth which cost a lot of time, money and effort to be corrected - oh my goodness that was an expensive experience and involved many, many visits to a Specialist each month!

Rainy days

Sometimes I don't mind rainy days, but today I do cos I have 101 chores to do outside and it is gloomy and not at all inviting! I did a short run this morning just to loosen up my legs and here's what I saw en-route:

It really makes me angry when people just dump rubbish in the countryside! I've reported it to the appropriate authority but I suspect it will sit there for ages as the Council is over-stretched atm. What made me happy though was seeing my neighbours Soay sheep out in her field:

Aren't they cute! Sadly though they aren't bred for their fleece but for their meat.

Saxons, Vikings and Normans

What's she going on about history for, I hear you say! Well Saxons Vikings and Normans is the name of the Race Director with whom I have been running for many years now. So over the next 3 days I will be running 3 marathons with my favourite Race Director, before he and his lovely wife retire and their lovely, friendly and inclusive events will disappear. There will undoubtedly be tears all round as they have played such an important part in my running journey. Without Tills and Rachel I never would have attempted 236 marathons/ultra marathons including a 100 mile event. As a leaving gift I'm giving them this plaque that hung on the dining room wall of my childhood home. It was issued in 1966 to commemorate the Battle of Hastings in 1066 so it seemed perfect!

Now I'm hoping this works so I can start blogging again on a more regular basis!

A bit of this, a bit of that!

Oh my goodness I've had a nightmare trying to get into my blog to edit it, so this is just a test........and thank goodness it seems to have worked! Now I can start updating it soon!

More Nature

There's so much going on atm that it's rather overwhelming! We're busy repainting all the outside windows and doors and it take a lot of work and good weather to stay on top of everything. We've been lucky for the first couple of weeks but now we seem to be entering a rainy season. I've got a nice LDWA event coming up this weekend. It's a 30 miler and it's a lovely route I've done before. In the garden there are still lots of births - ducks, rooks, crows and a badger with another duck sitting on a nest somewhere but coming for breakfast here each morning.

This cute little squirrel has a best somewhere bearby and pops along for some grain each day:

I snapped this photo of 2 Rooks this morning 'cos it made me smile - it was as if they were just waiting for me to put the food out for them!!!

Nature

Following on from 2 seemingly successful hatchings for our resident ducks, there is just one duckling left. It's so sad as the poor little mite has had a sore foot for several days but the good news is that he's still managing to walk and his mummy is being extra cautious. He's been coming up for some grain each morning and evening and I really hope he survives.

The other rather exciting thing was a balloon flying right over our fields and house in the early morning last week! The weather was perfect and I managed to take a few snaps to share:

We're rather busy trying to repair our outdoor windowframes at the moment, which is tedious but necessary. Mike does the prep work and I follow on with undercoats x 2 and top coats x 2. I'd much rather be out running or gardening but sometimes the practical and less exciting tssk just have to be done, don't they!

Spring things!

So many things have happened and I just can't keep up! I've still got a niggling injury from a fall caused by an impatient club runner a few months ago and this has impacted on all my plans! I've been knitting, crocheting, gardening, running short distances, attending Yoga to stretch out the sore bits and there's lots of work to do in the house too but not enough hours in the day! That said, we had a nice surprise yesterday when one of our resident wild ducks brought her babies up to show us:

Awwh, aren't they cute?! Mrs Duck had some food and a short rest then she headed off to the pond and I followed her in case anything attacked her 8 precious babies. She brought them up again later in the afternoon and they were all fine and we watched them skimming around in the pond. But here comes the BUT - this morning there were 7 ducklings when she came up for her brekkie and then this afternoon there were only 6 ducklings. Sadly, Nature can be very cruel.

Let's hope the remaining babies survive.

A few bits and bobs

The title probably sounds quite old-fashioned but it's something my mum used to say when I was a child and it's just stuck! Google refers to it as "an assortment of small items" or in my world "an assortment of oddments". First is another Amyrillis in flower. This time it's a variegated version which I rather like.

I think it's the last to flower for this year unless, of course, I find another that I've squirreled away and forgotten about! The Camassias I planted in the orchard a few years have settled in really well. I was a bit unsure about putting them in such heavy and wet clay soil but apparently that's their native habitat in the USA.

Unfortunately, our resident Pheasant seems to be annoyed by them and keeps pecking off the flowers! No worries though as bring them in and plonk them in a jam jar on the kitchen windowsill and Shelley likes to sniff them!

I've just started a new crochet project to use up some of my Rowan Summer Tweed stash. Of course I have a supervisor to keep me on track!

I must go back through my knitting projects and see what I should share as I've had some lovely items recently, especially this jumper from Wool & Pine:

It doesn't look special when layed out like this but it's a joy to wear and the colour is beautiful.

Spring has sprung!

Spring is definitely my favourite season for so many reasons - I hate dark mornings but I love seeing all the flora and fauna bursting ibto life. Here are some photos of our recent visitors:

They're naughty and destroy the fruit trees but we don't mind as there's plenty for all of us. The next day after we had a mummy and 2 youngsters but we haven't seen them since. More of my Amarylis are flowering now and this next one is named 'Naughty Girl"!

As usual I have far too mnay knitting, crochet and sewing projects on the go which Shelley likes to help with! She also enjoys watching her new boyfriend from along the lane. As she's an indoor cat she's happy to play indoors and enjoys watching the wildlife through the windows. We do take her out on a lead sometimes but have to stay close to home as she gets terrified if a car/van passes along the lane.

Slowly trying get back into blogging

Hi everyone, with apologies for my absence but my hubby has been poorly, still is in fact. Had an operation but still has issues, so things are all topsy-turvy here at the moment. 2023 was a blur of hospitals and running for charity. So much has happened and I need to restart blogging asap before I forget eveything! Here's a photo of one of our Amarylis looking gorgous atm. She's named Susan which seems appropriate!

Then there was another sweater....

Or rather, before the shawl as I'm out of sync! This was the Sorrel sweater from Wool and Pine whose patterns are always enjoyable to knit.

It's constructed top-down which means you can try it on to check the fit/length etc as you go. This was more 4ply yarn from my stash together with the perfectly matched mohair from Jess at Pigment and Ply - she dyes the most beautiful colourways. The sweater is very warm and my only wish is that I'd had enough yarn to make full-length sleeves. Having said that, it looks fab with a chunky bracelet.

A little bit of a catch-up

First there was the Mkal from Stephen West. I'd never done any of his knit-alongs before but decided to dive into my stash and have a go and I'm so glad I did as it was such fun! I didn't start until the MKAL had finished as I had too many other projects on the go. It's called 'Twists and Turns'and was a delight to knit with excellent tutorials from Stephen and lots of support in the Ravelry groups.

Trying again!

OK, fed up of not being able to blog so trying again with a few snaps taken when the sun made an appearance after the snow & ice melted. Let's try a few more to see where it dumps them............