June in the garden…

Well being away for the last week of May/first week of June was always going to be “interesting” - that we knew. My lovely Mum popped in a few times and watered as needed - which thanks to some rather unseasonal weather, wasn’t as often as we suspected might be needed. And of course more rain than expected also meant that everything GREW - we came back to a main veg bed that looked like this…

Plus a lot of weeds everywhere and a patch of lawn that appeared to have decided it was a very small meadow…! 

In terms of  “damage”, sadly our entire planting of Broad beans had succumbed to blackfly. Not a particular surprise - there were signs on a few plants before we went away, and quite honestly we should have been tougher on that when we first saw it, so a learning curve there. We finally gave in and pulled the plants in fact, as we clearly weren’t going to get anything edible from them. The Pak Choi - just tiny little baby plants when we left - had clearly been delighted at being planted into the main bed as that had bolted as you can see from the picture. Some of the leaves are still useable, but obviously it’s not quite what I’d intended from it! Other than that, the only casualties were the runner and bush beans we had sown before heading off - whether they never germinated, or just got eaten as soon as they did, we have no idea, but apart from one single lonely seedling, there were no sign of those. More bush beams were sown immediately, and we bought runner bean plants which are already going well.

From as soon as we were back we were able to start harvesting salad leaves, the first few radishes and some little baby carrots too. A few Pak Choi leaves went into a stir fry, but our first notable harvest came in the form of the first courgette on the 19th - and very tasty it was too! 

We’ve had a couple more since, and with plenty more on the plants we are hopeful for them forming a solid part of our eating for a while yet. 

The cooler weather through May and into the early part of June has unquestionably held everything back which is annoying. I’m still needing to buy herbs as needed, although mine are starting to grow with a bit more enthusiasm it’s not what I had hoped for really. I think parsley and coriander may well be on the list of things to buy from the nursery next year, just to get an earlier start on things. We are still harvesting lettuce leaves but there will be a gap before the next lot of cut and come again is ready. Cucumbers are setting on both our surviving plants - two more have been sown and should be ready to plant out soon, but whether those will catch up remains to be seen. 

In terms of the floral side of things, next door’s honeysuckle which has happily grown through our fence is now flowering and looking fantastic…

Proving very popular with the bees too - there was one cheerfully buzzing around as I took that picture in fact - you can see him at the bottom of the shot! Our sunflowers have been growing furiously too and are now just beginning to burst into full flower - look…

Just how cheerful is that? Definitely something we would always make a point of growing now I think - they proved remarkably trouble free from the start, germination rate was high (6/6 germinated, but one got eaten just as soon as they were planted out - we would be faster with the slug protection in future) and although we did stake them due to some very high winds bending them right over, I’m not convinced they’d need it in usual circumstances. Above all though they are a great bit of fun with their big happy bright yellow flower heads! 

So there you have it - the main veg bed now looks like this:

As you can see the potatoes look to be trying to take over the world, there! Our tomato plants are also finally growing - and flowering - as we would hope…

That’s the standard plants - we also have an area of more compact bush plants at the bottom of the garden which are starting to produce fruit. All being well by the time I post the July in the Garden post we ought to be self-sufficient in toms, at least! 

Robyn. 

 

Last weekend Sywell Aerodrome hosted their first full airshow - and it became apparent from when they first started releasing information about the participating aircraft that they were going all-out to make this a success. A group of us decided to go along - some for one day, and a few of us bit the bullet and committed to both. Tickets were reasonably priced, standard parking was free, and the participating aircraft looked good - generally a pretty solid basis to assume that a show will be a decent one! 

So it proved - and the weather joined in as well to make things even more of a success. Sunshine with a light cooler breeze on Saturday, and Sunday was even warmer, with sunshine pretty much right through the day. We even got airshow favourite clouds scudding across the sky too which from a photography point of view is a winner! 

The show opened with the formation above - it’s always a bit of a coup for a show to get an F-35 to fly with anything else, and the two warbirds alongside (a P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang) were just such a good pairing - I think we were all a bit stunned after several passes to be honest! We weren’t given much time to gather ourselves though before the P-47 joined up with iconic B-17 Bomber “Sally B”

How stunning! We weren’t done with USAF types either, a formation of Mustangs was quite something to see, sparkling and gleaming in the sunshine…

These frequently have “bare-metal” type schemes - wonderful to watch, but a bit of a devil to photograph…a bit like the incredible Flying Bulls B-25 Mitchell. 

You can literally see the countryside around reflected back from the immaculately polished fuselage! The Flying Bulls are a bit of a rare sight in the U.K. although they do occasionally appear, I’ve seen them just a handful of times though so their participation was extremely welcome and keenly anticipated. They didn’t disappoint either - displaying the Mitchell above with a P-51 Mustang (already seen earlier in the show both with the F-35a and in formation with other mustangs), a Corsair and another rarely seen type, the P-38 Lightning. 

Comedy moment of day 1 was undoubtedly the arrival of the Oil Spill Response Boeing 727 which took the commentary team - James Holland of the We Have Ways Podcast, alongside Mike Ling, best known from his time spent with the RAF Red Arrows both as a display pilot and as Red 10, safety supervisor, and also now an accomplished warbird pilot - by surprise. Their astonished reaction elicited an audible ripple of amusement throughout the crowd line! 

Another absolute highlight for most of us was the stunning wing walking display from 46-Aviation, a Swiss based (I think?) husband and wife team. The most frequently heard phrase during this one was “well she’s clearly just utterly bonkers isn’t she!” - not surprising when you realise that their finale was this…

Absolutely incredible to watch - she had the entire audience gripped throughout I think, not always the case with wing walking displays. I for one would be delighted to see these guys make more regular UK appearances! 

The main display on day 1 ended with a massed Spitfire formation. This is always an incredible treat to see - and indeed hear! They did a few passes in their group of 9 (albeit with one aircraft on day 1 tending to hang back off the main formation a bit, making it tricky to get in shot) then moved to line astern formation to engage in a lengthy tailchase display which was stunning to witness. 

Day 2 was much the same as far as the majority of  participants were concerned. No F-35 to start, and the display closed with a Red Arrows display after the massed spitfires.  

This year’s Reds display is an absolute cracker - without question the best for a fair few years, in fact. The return of the famous Diamond 9 formation after several years of the team flying reduced numbers for various reasons is fantastic to see - and they are flying the above version of short diamond with all 9 jets streaming smoke which is a bit of a nod to this being their Diamond Anniversary year, I think. 

There were the usual synchro passes - and I even managed to track the right jet on some of them which was handy! We’d decided on a far more chilled day so were sat a good way back, but of course that doesn’t matter much for a display like the Reds. It’s also nice being able to see and hear the crowd reaction along with the noise of the jets too - the ooohs and ahhhs at Synchro’s close passes, and always a ripple of delight when “Tornado” makes an appearance too. 

All in all this show was an absolute winner. A great range of aircraft flying, including stuff rarely seen in the U.K. something a bit “different” too - it’s always great to have something a bit unique to point the camera at! They did a great job with the car park too - staggering the departure times by adding the evening display on Saturday made leaving straightforward, but even on Sunday when a lot of folk were leaving directly after the Reds it was easy - in the car and straight out, barely even stopping. The large shows that have been doing this for years could learn a LOT from their approach! 

Well done Sywell - if you run again next year I will be straight in the queue for tickets! 

Robyn. 

Hebrides…DONE!

 

Another two weeks at beautiful Kettle Cottage - and how lovely it was to be back after missing a year last year because we were too slow off the mark to book! 

As usual with any Hebrides trip these days, there was a bit of ferry-related stress on the way up. It was windy - not by Hebrides standards, but windy nonetheless. And the ferry has a stabiliser out of action at the moment which affects the sea-states she can sail in. As a result we actually let our overnight hotel not quite knowing if we would get across, or not. Thankfully by the time we reached Fort William we were able to see that the boat had left South Uist on her way across to the mainland, so a big sigh of relief was breathed! 

The weather this year did leave a little to be desired - especially when compared with our two weeks of wall to wall sunshine and ludicrously warm temperatures in 2023. Nobody with any sense visits the Western Isles for sunbathing weather though, so it didn’t get in the way of anything we wanted to do, although it did mean we adjusted the days we chose to do a few things, and also meant that it was right at the end of our stay before we finally made it up our favourite little hill on Benbecula - Rueval…

The views were as stunning as ever, but oh my was it breezy at the top! 

Coincidence of the trip was finding ourselves by chance sharing a table at The Dunes Cabin for lunch with another couple - we got chatting as you do, and after a while the conversation turned to where we were from… “Essex” said we…”oh, us too” came the response…”which bit?”  Well, it only turned out that they live less than quarter of a mile from our front door! Ludicrous or what? It was their first visit to the islands, so we passed on a few “must sees” and will be keeping an eye out for them locally now we’re back to see if they are planning a return trip!  

Of course we booked for another trip on the boat with the lovely Lady Anne crew - Nye was skippering this time, with new crew member Rosie alongside, and as usual we were expertly navigated into some great spots to see some fabulous wildlife, with the beautiful White Tailed Eagles being stars of the show as always.

That is Ronald - one of the pair resident in the area the boat visits. Handsome chap isn’t he! I’ve photographed them a number of times now but the thrill as you first see them never diminishes - and it always takes your breath away seeing such a huge bird so close up as well. It’s just such a privilege - and well worth the cost of the trip. 

As usual the trip was filled with plenty of wandering about, nice food, general relaxing and a bit of exploring too - even after all these years we still find the odd place we’ve not been to before. We were also over for the Tractor Rally this year too - first time we’ve been there for that in a good few years. Always good fun, the tractors set off earlier in the morning to do a circuit around the Island before heading back to the hall and show ground at Hosta. Everyone admires them for a bit, then goes and eats and jolly good lunch of soup, sandwiches and homebaking - and there is NOTHING not to like about that! The Uist ladies really know how to bake as well and they are definitely “never knowingly undercatered” - we were absolutely stuffed. It’s all for charity as well, so feels like a good way of being able to contribute something back, while we are there.

We were also up at the right time for the stunning arrays of wildflowers on the machair - always a highlight of a spring visit, and this year didn’t let us down as Uist had a warm spell at the beginning of May which meant all the flowers were a bit ahead of where they might usually have been. The orchids in particular were both stunning and prolific! 

All in all, another lovely trip. It’s always tough to leave, but then these days not only do we know we will most definitely be returning, we are also coming home to a place we love, and with plenty to keep us occupied between the garden (which ran cheerfully amok while we were gone!) and airshow season now starting properly for me.  

Our 2025 trip is already booked up - so we’d better get saving! 

Robyn. 

May in the Garden...

Everything just feels like it's flourishing this month - the weather has turned warmer, the seemingly incessant rain we had all through the winter and early spring has finally eased, and things are GROWING!

Picture taken in the semi-dark showing the more "floral" bit of the garden!

The Broad beans are now in full flower and looking stunning - they're a great crop to grow as they do look (and smell) so lovely, as well as giving a welcome early substantial food crop, of course. We've also now built the frame for our other beans to climb up - so that side of the garden will be bean central, this year! MrEH remembered to look at the large Orange DIY shop's garden clearance area when he was in there for bamboo canes, and discovered some rather straggling pea plants for 43p - so those have gone in at one end of the frame and they will either live, or not...

Rescue peas...

We've transplanted the tomatoes into their pots and growbags and found what we hope will be the right locations for those - they seem a bit slow getting going, but hopefully when they properly find their feet (roots?) they will catch up a bit. I also sowed the last few of the Hungarian Black Chilli seeds that we had remaining - these are a lovely mellow flavoured chilli with flavour rather than heat - the seeds were given to us by an old neighbour who grew them a few years ago and to be honest they're probably a bit old - I'm hopeful we might see more from the second sowing, but as things stand we have one solitary little plant! Cucumbers have also been shifted into a growbag.

Tomatoes, chilli, rhubarb & very happy redcurrant!

In the new veg bed, the potatoes popped their heads up early in the month and now seem to be doing very well. The rhubarb also seems to have settled in well. The winner in there so far though is unquestionably the redcurrant - which actually has some fruit forming on it! We didn't expect to get anything from it this year realistically, so that's a nice surprise! Also in that bed now in additional to the stuff mentioned before is Swiss Chard ("Bright lights" - which once it's a bit bigger will look nice and provide useful food!) and pak choi which we've not grown before as far as I can think, so that will be an interesting one. Some calendula have been planted in there too as attractive companion plants, and also a sow of sunflowers across the back - there were six. but something ate one straight through the stem! We're actually really delighted with those - we've not grown them before so it's gratifying that they're doing so well! 

Potatoes peeking through...

In terms of all things floral, the highlight of this month has been the Alliums which are just stunning - I'm so glad that we planted those! The Aquilegia is still going strong too - and the new one in the front is also in flower already which is a lovely surprise too. Also out the front, both roses are now flowering as well, and we're seeing plenty of activity from the various seeds that got scattered, although as yet it's a bit of a mystery what we might be getting, there! The little line of foxgloves appear to be taking over the world - and several of them are now taller than I am, much to MrEH's amusement! (He will be less amused if as I suspect, they overtake HIM, too!)

One of our utterly glorious Alliums...

We’re starting to discover what our problem weeds are going to be now - bindweed which keeps popping up all over the place and is probably the most problematic. Creeping cinquefoil and herb Robert - both st least easy to pull out, even if they are persistent. We’re keeping a beady eye out for any three cornered leek appearing - so far there have been a couple in pots we brought with us so they have been allowed to flower, then had the flowers nipped off and then the bulbs pulled out. 

New veg bed flanked with tomatoes! 

I'm hopeful that the June in the Garden post will be more about harvesting things, and successional sowing, and my basil FINALLY looking like it might eventually provide me with something which will be able to be turned into pesto later in the year!  

Robyn

After work wandering…

 I’ve been reading through the blog of a friend of mine recently. A lot of it I’ve read before - but a fair bit of it I haven’t for various reasons, so it’s nice to go back and catch up on her life a bit more. (For those wondering - it’s the lovely “Not Quite a farm” blog). One of the things I utterly adore about her blogging style is that she posts with masses of photos attached from her various adventures - it makes reading through such a treat! Anyway - this inspired me to take some photos on my glorious after work amble today - and let’s be honest, anything that encourages photo taking also encourages us to really look at our surroundings which is a good thing, agreed?!

First thing to catch my eye was these lovely Ox Eye Daisies. I love these - they seem quite content to grow in all sorts of places - alongside railway lines; in great drifts on motorway embankments; and here - on a patch of scrubby land just yards from the busy A12 dual carriageway. 

Next was this Vetch - another tenacious little plant, this grows everywhere in the area I was walking although it’s right at the beginning of its flowering season.

Comfrey is also growing in profusion- a useful plant this as it can be grown as part of a green manure system for veg growing. The leaves can be steeped in water to make Comfrey tea - a nutritious fertiliser (and a stinky one!) or they can be chopped up and dug into beds for future veggie planting. We may well be searching out some leaves later in the year! 

The area I had chosen to walk is Wanstead Flats - an area of parkland/scrubland which is also part of the corporation of London’s Epping Forest. It’s lovely to have it so close to work and a great place for walking or indeed running. It’s finally drying out a bit from our very wet winter and this was the first time I’d braved the mud so far this year. 

Gorgeous, isn’t it! You can see the mix of woodland and more open space - almost heathland I guess as the soil underfoot always feels quite sandy, although with enough London Clay to make it stick to your boots when wet! 

As you walk through the woods every now and again you come across a lovely shady little glade like this - with the trees through here now in full leaf it just felt unbelievably green and lush - and really brought it home that yes, finally, spring is here! 

In case a reminder of the proximity of Central London itself is required, look carefully at the shot above and you will just see the Shard way off on the horizon! 

Finally, after a couple of miles of gentle meandering, I found myself back close to where the car was parked. And as the sun was still shining, I was able to settle down at a bench in a nearby park to write this and then read my book while waiting for MrEH to get back from his working day, so we could head home. 

Not a bad end to a working day! 

Robyn 

Hebrides Countdown...

Well, we've not had one of these for a while, have we? I always used to do them, then stopped because I wasn't blogging regularly while we were actually away any more, and so the countdown felt a bit redundant. then I (mostly) stopped blogging much at all, but now I'm back to trying to blog at least semi regularly again anyway, and blogging with photos, at that, so actually, it felt like a nice thing to resurrect! 

So - we're off again shortly - staying in the gorgeous little Kettle Cottage up on North Uist. We missed out of booking Kettle last year as the timings didn't work for our "usual" slot, and there wasn't availability at another time we could make, so we made sure we were able to book it again for 2024 (and have actually already booked 2025 as well - we're not being caught out again, oh no!) As has been the case for a few years now, we are also stretching the trip out for a bit above a straight fortnight too - booking for a ferry over on the Thursday of our trip, and not returning until the Sunday at the end too - this is something we've managed to do for a few years now, and while no doubt there will come a year when it's not so practical, this isn't that year. (Hurrah!) So our first two nights will be spent in one of the glamping pods at our favourite campsite, and the final night of the trip will be there, too. 

As always, we've made NO definite plans for things to do while we're there - we don't, generally. There are things we undoubtedly will do of course - lots of walks on the headland where the Cottage is located and elsewhere. Lots of wandering about looking at birds of course, and time on various beaches too. Cafe trips, cake eaten, at least one stroll up our favourite little hill with the amazing views - Rueval. We'll probably book a boat trip again, and I will be hoping to get some photos of the beautiful White Tailed Eagles as well - it's always a treat seeing them. Whatever we see, and wherever we go though, just being up there, with no specific plans, and time to just relax, sit and enjoy the views, listen to the silence...those are the things that we go for, after all! 

Robyn

Here we go again...!

The "Suffolk Spitfire"

 The 2024 Airshow season started for me over the weekend with a lovely afternoon at IWM Duxford, and some new-to-me aircraft to photograph. It's always great when show organisers make a real effort to get "different" stuff displaying - and hats off to Duxford, they do a good job here. This was their first "Flying day" of the season - a shorter than full airshow programme with just 2 - 3 hours of flying, but they packed plenty in. Members also get free admission to these which is a nice bonus - and is definitely something which guarantees I will renew my membership each year. 

I was probably most excited about seeing the lovely "Suffolk Spitfire" - pictured above, this beauty is unusually seen in a US Air Force scheme and in usual US fashion flies bearing a name and nose-art - "Porky II" in this case - although she also bears a more normal-for-the-UK designation of RW382 as well. I'd seen her on the ground before but not flying so this was a really nice treat. 

Also out to play was a Hawker Sea Fury that I don't believe I've seen before - indeed I have a feeling this a newly restored to airworthiness aircraft. As you can see we had an utterly glorious day for photographing aircraft - and my combination of mirrorless camera with it's new lens was a real joy to use coping well with all the changes in light that occurred during the afternoon...

Hawker Sea Fury

I like the Fury/Sea Fury - in the UK it "just" has WWII heritage, and indeed it has the distinction of being the final propeller driven fighter to see action with the Royal Navy. Because it was developed during the war years you can really see the influence of other aircraft from outside the Hawker "stable" with the streamlined shape being more reminiscent of a Spitfire than a Hurricane. 

Hawker Nimrod

My records suggest that I'd not photographed the Nimrod before, either - another Naval aircraft, and from an earlier time period as this one predates WWII by quite a few years. Compared with the sleek Fury it's a whole world apart, isn't it! Indeed, this one never quite even made it to the beginning of WWII, being replaced by the Gladiator before the conflict began. 

There were a couple more "new to me" aircraft at the show as well - but I haven't yet got to the photos of those, and will be processing those through the week no doubt, aiming to get them completed ahead of show No 2 next weekend at Shuttleworth. Here's hoping it's another lovely sunny day!