How's this for blue? I have to take note of these blue irises as, like so much in the garden at the moment, they're soon over...blink and you miss them. It's the same with the alliums...don't think I've ever seen them go over so quickly.

As I couldn't get to work as much or as early this spring, many of the plants have flopped over...it's a bit of a rescue mission for the poppies and delphiniums. There's some massive weeds ...I'm well scratched and nettled now...time for a mug of coffee.

No, we didn't have only lettuce for tea...it was just a particularly fresh component of our meal. These are the first salad leaves I've picked from the trays I've sown...I'm late with everything this season. It's great to be able to go out and gather something we can eat though, even in such a minor way. Hopefully, before too long, we'll have some greenhouse tomatoes and basil as well.

I reckon these pigs get tired at being gawped at. They are one of my favourite things to look at every year at the county show. There is something so comically cheering about them, somehow. Oh, and most of them were actually asleep!

I've bought a great bargain for the utility cum hallway - a pretty blue painted key cupboard, just £2 in a local charity shop...and guess what, I found it the day after I'd just painted and fixed up a row of little hooks...typical! This is much better looking though. It's got a woven fabric insert on the door that makes it especially nice, I think.
At the same time, I found the green and white striped pot, just right for the pot of oregano.

At the moment they're both sitting on the worktop that Les made from some planks of oak he bought ages ago and has had drying out in the garage. I'm glad now that, after endless discussion (mainly about what we could use that wouldn't cost too much!), we decided on this and not the laminate we were contemplating. At least, if it gets marked, I can always rub it down and re-seal it.

Well, it's all over, and the weather was kind. The bride looked beautiful and everything went pretty much to plan. Since the day we have been absolutely shattered...not sure why really...probably it's the kind of inertia that strikes after a lovely holiday. Back to reality now.

Mmm probably thinking - that looks nice but is no good to me. These Herefords had to be moved to a new pasture on Saturday as they had eaten the grass in the Croft down to the roots (if you know what I mean). They seem happy now.

Today is grey and cool, and it keeps threatening to rain (which the land badly needs, apparently!), so a cup of tea and a piece of this coffee and pecan cake(recipe yesterday) might just brighten things up a little.

For some reason (probably because I had some in a coffee shop recently!) I am in the mood for coffee cake. So, here is my version

(You need to make some strong coffee and allow to cool)

6oz, 175g butter
6oz, 175g sugar
7oz, 200g self-raising flour
2 eggs
50ml strong coffee
1 teaspoon baking powder
2oz, 50g chopped pecan nuts

Topping
4oz, 110g butter
7oz, 200g icing sugar
50ml coffee
chopped pecan nuts to scatter on top

Beat the butter and sugar, until creamy. Gradually add the beaten eggs. Add the coffee. Fold in the sieved flour and baking powder. Mix in the chopped pecan nuts. Put in a prepared 20cm, 8" tin. Bake in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes.

When cool, remove from tin. Ice with topping and scatter nuts on top. Will show you the results tomorrow.

Thought I'd better post this now as there will be little time tomorrow midst all the excitement.
Little Joe, who's 3, has agreed to give this heart to the happy couple - and we fully intend that there will be lots of confetti to scatter. A few weeks ago I dried some petals from roses and scented stocks on a baking tray in the airing cupboard and then had the bright (for me)idea that they would be great to use as natural confetti. Will the sun shine? We hope so!

As you see the peaches are coming along; however they are also taking over the greenhouse. I would advise anyone to grow them - they are brilliant - but you really need a separate place to have them.

This is a Lord Derby apple tree, apparently - later producing large cooking apples. Isn't this such a period of transience in nature? I fully intended making some dandelion wine - but seem to have completely missed the boat - all in a few days!

She's a beauty I think, this gorgeous lavender blue clematis veined with mauve. There's so much to see in the garden at the moment, but not much work being done apart from watering the greenhouse - this will have to change as Helen has just phoned me to ask about taking part in our village open gardens day and of course I said yes...then panicked.

You would have laughed if you'd seen me hanging washing out this morning wearing my usual scruffy old jeans with a pair of shiny cream stilettoed sling backs...ever so slightly incongruous and not a look I'd generally recommend (Trinny and Susannah would be horrified!), but it's number 2 son's wedding on Friday and I want to make sure my killer heels are slightly less murderous by then!

I had a few strawberries over & had 2 pears, so made this easy dessert - you could really subsitute more or less any fruit - or, I bet flaked almonds would be nice with the pears,
6oz, 175g each of butter, caster sugar & flour; 2 eggs and a tablespoon ground almonds. Prepare a round tin of about 7". Mix all ingredients well together. Put in tin. Peel and cube the pears & halve the strawberries. Put fruit on top of cake mixture. Bake in a moderate oven for about 50 minutes. When a little cool, turn out onto a plate. delicious served warm, with cream.

I had to act in haste to capture a photo of this bread - Paul was here with his usual massive appetite and he gave it the thumbs up (while enjoying several slices). It's a really tasty savoury bread, to be enjoyed newly baked just as it is, or as an accompaniment to summer salads and olives. The ingredients are simple too - just some mature Cheddar and fresh chives picked from the garden.

8oz self-raising flour
4oz mature Cheddar, grated
2 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp whole grain mustard
1 beaten egg
1oz butter, melted
quarter of a pint of milk
1 tsp salt

Place the flour and salt in a bowl and add 3oz of the grated Cheddar. Mix well. Add the chives, mustard, beaten egg, melted butter and milk and mix well.

Line the bottom of a large loaf tin with baking paper. Place the mixture in the tin and level the top. Sprinkle the top with the rest of the Cheddar. Bake at 180C, gas mark 5 for about half an hour. Slice when cool.

This year seems a good one for the wallflowers - there are little bunches all over the house at the moment. These were put in as plants last autumn, though in the past I have grown some from seeds in trays which I put in in July - perhaps I'll try that again this time - they smell divine...however you grow them

&
We've just had a shower of rain, only light, but one that's made the earth smell - I'm sure you know what I mean - that distinctive scent of warmth and growth that's unique to this time of year.

The lilacs as well, have a heady perfume...the white one's a very old bush planted before we moved here so the flowers are small...a good prune would probably improve it - I'll need Les' help as it's beyond my
reach from step ladders. The other lilac is just that...a perfect shade of lilac.

It couldn't be easier to have a supply of salad leaves. In this case I used a suitable compost and a wooden tray which Les kindly made for me. You can either use seeds or plants (if you are impatient). It is a good idea to have two on the go...and to keep them near at hand so you can snip of some leaves when you want - much nicer than those awful bags of salad.

At long last we've completed the little hallway/utility...hard to believe it's taken so long, but you know how it is - what starts off as a little painting job suddenly develops into a major task.

We decided that some panelling would add a bit of interest to the plain walls, so tiles had to be chipped off first. Then pipes needed to be boxed in, followed by a bit of plastering (done by number 1 son), replacement sockets and switches, changing the plumbing to the washing machine...on and on it went.

So it was a while before I could paint the panelling in a soft cream and the walls in a pale cooking apple green (it looks blue on the photo for some reason). I've had the little shelf for ages and couldn't wait to get it fixed on the wall...likewise the little flower plaque I found in a charity shop a few weeks ago...quite chuffed now though, but it doesn't half make everywhere else look scruffy!

You may remember Margaret challenging me to get a "real hare" a while ago? Well, hare (sorry, here) we go - the best I can do for now.

We're a bit out of practice so soon in the year but it won't take us long until we have this picnic and MG malarky well sorted. Once we have some kind of routine established, we may possibly be able to leave the house without hours of planning and packing beforehand.

This weekend we blew the dust off the car and the cool bag, and took off into the Peaks. Being creatures of habit we headed for our favourite picnic spot overlooking Ilam in Dovedale. Fortunately, we remembered to take the most essential item - midge spray - the midges make a beeline for me and I get bitten unbearably. They don't seem to bother Les...wonder why?

This is the first of this linnet's eggs. Typically they lay 4 - 6, between April & June. It's very hot & humid today. This won't be a popular sentiment, but I'm not keen on this particular type of weather.

I've had to take photos of the cherry blossom pretty sharpish...a few more days and it will be over. Noreen and I were only discussing today how hastily we seem to have moved from winter into late spring (we have these in-depth discussions on important topics all the time!) And I got a bit of a surprise to see the lilac in flower...I can't keep up!

This is a piece of the cake - recipe posted a couple of days ago. Hasn't everything, (including dandelions), started to grow? I was looking at the dandelions today and thinking...wine. I wonder if I should have a go. May is the month for making dandelion wine. Watch this space.

It's a shame the kids around here have nothing better to do than hang around farmers' gateways getting into mischief. Obviously, he hasn't been nurtured by Mary Poppins!

This is what you might think if you were to walk or drive through our village at the moment. We are having a scarecrow competition (brilliant idea, Simon!) Everyone has been busy drawing faces, stuffing all sorts of things with straw and most importantly...having loads of fun. Do you like Mary Poppins? Going for a run is great at the moment, imagining a parallel universe, where all the scarecrows live at night....!

This is some of the vintage and not so vintage fabric I've acquired recently. It sends my heart all a-flutter just looking at it...oh, the possibilities! All day I've been washing and hanging it on the line to dry in this wonderful weather we're enjoying. Now folded neatly in anticipation of projects to come.
But what about the garden and greenhouse? Everything demands attention at the moment, doesn't it?

This is a variation on a Staffordshire fruit cake. Shall we see how it turns out? I'll post the result tomorrow.
175g, 6oz unrefined caster sugar
175g, 6oz butter
4 eggs
225g, 8oz s-r flour
half teaspoon mace
half teaspoon baking powder
50g, 2oz black treacle
50g, 2oz ground almonds
225g, 8oz mixed fruit
50g, 2oz mixed peel
Juice of a lemon
1 tablesppon brandy

Oven at 350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease & line a 8" tin. Cream the butter & sugar. Gradually add the beaten eggs. Fold in the flour, baking powder & spice. Add the mixed fruit and peel. Stir in the lemon juice & brandy. Bake for 2 hours. Enjoy

It's probably rather insensitive to show you our Sunday lunch after Noreen's photo of the gorgeous black lambs - but at least it's beef. We've had the family over and enjoyed a tradtional meal - what Les calls 'a proper dinner' - that is, in his view, one that includes potatoes. To accompany his spuds, good beef from a local butcher and huge Yorkshire puddings!

These are our next door neighbours' lambs - they are zwartables - a breed which is Dutch in origin. I don't know what that one is doing chewing the fence, though!

Our native bluebell must come in my top five favourite wild flowers, if not the number one. There's no better sight to gladden the heart than sunlight filtering onto the bright green and hazy blue understorey of a bluebell wood.
Close-up they're so much prettier and more delicate than the Spanish bluebells in our garden, the difference easily noted by the way the flower stems of the native bluebell droop over at the top and the slimmer, deeper blue flowers hang down one side of the stem. Gorgeous, eh?

This bread is lovely with pasta, lasagne or just with some toasted cheese on top
700g (1lb, 8oz) strong flour
1 teaspoon salt
25g (1oz) fresh yeast
475 ml(nearly a pint) warm milk
25g (1oz) sundried tomato, sliced or chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, torn, or 2 teaspoons dried basil
50g (2oz) strong mature cheese

Mix a little of the milk with the yeast, until it is a smooth paste. Mix flour and salt. Mix in the yeast mix, and the remainder of the milk. Knead well, for 10 minutes. Return to bowl. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour. Knock dough back and mix in tomato, basil and cheese. Knead for 3 minutes. Form into 3 cobs. Put on greased tray. Cover with tea-towel. All