Not my last post but as Lockdown is easing

 All the way through lockdown I have been writing a post every night .
I felt I owned it to everyone to read them and enjoyed them to keep going. Some of my day are very much the same, eat, sleep and work or maybe sleep ...I love to sleep, so contact me up to 12.30 past midnight I am rarely in bed by then but when I don't have guests in I  sleep in . I sometimes don't even feel the urgency at 7.30am when someone rings to pick up the phone . It would be Jack's mate who wants some advice about his sheep or Jacks cousin Stuart who I am sure rings up at some unearthly hour to wind me up.  I plan to have a code if my Dad wants me. So the secret is out ,when I have been invited to do webinars and zoom meetings early doors you know why I dont accept the offer. Susan Briggs' zoom meetings I really look forward to.  I try to make them all as she has worked so hard during the lockdown to keep us all going I try not to miss those. So even if she did them at 6am I would crawl out of bed to listen in.

As you probably know I do a lot on social media and always trying to help other businesses and also during lockdown other than the telephone it has been a great way to keep in touch with people.

I set out with great intentions at the beginning of all this lockdown to get certain jobs done. One thing I really want to do is to finish a book I have been writing for some time, so this is why I am going to write random blogs probably once or twice a week. Forgive me, but by the time I write a blog, double check the spelling and still get words wrong. Find photos from my jumbled up photo library, it is nearing 12 midnight when I get these posts up ..often taking me around an hour.

Again we have had rain today, which as well as refreshing things has made the weeds wake up too so I really must spend some time before our little jungle becomes an even bigger one. It was 10.30 pm when I came indoors from the garden this evening  and it is twilight I love these Summer nights. There is some bonus to living in the Northern Hemisphere .

I will leave you this evening with some photos of what Nicholas has got going on at the farm. He runs Wass Grange Hatchery and here are some of today chicks that have hatched out . So I will retreat to my "hatchery" and bring you news again before too long.

Stay safe, dear people. Stay strong and remember we only one chance to get it right. So try to stay at home  and look after yourselves. Dont take any notice of other people if they want to venture out and be silly bs that is their choice. I would like to think we will all still be here tucking into our Christmas dinners and moaning about the sprouts.

If you know of anyone who wants any eggs hatching or chicks Wass Grange Hatchery has a facebook page and all contact details are on there.



 

if you like trees and water and peace

What do you have when you step out of your back door.

When you live in a place like we do I suppose we take it for granted and some people would spend a lot more time up here than we do . I like to be near water and near trees and sometimes away from the telephone too . Here is a short video to show you just some of the things what you are missing.

When Jack is near the trees he usually has a chainsaw in this hand.

Getting the wood in for winter and as you will see there are a lot of fallen branches to keep us busy. When guests come to stay with us they often get in their cars and go off for the days. To visit stately homes and castles ,walled gardens and even plant centres. They come for all sorts of reasons. But what better place to go some take a book to read,others an easel and some just nod off in the peace and quiet. So as we hope to be coming out of lockdown before too long we are starting to think that people may just want to have a bit of space to themselves ,to feel safe and not to join the multitudes but to come and stay with us and simple enjoy our "back garden" They need to bring their cameras too as you never know what opportunity is there for you to catch , a deer with young ,the woodpecker , the fragile life that live in the woods, fungi and microorganism ...here today gone tomorrow.

Walking ,exercise in our beautiful valley

We are situated 1 mile west out of Ampleforth. Locals always say if they are heading to Gilling East or the Ampleforth fish ponds which are given the posh name now of Ampleforth lakes to go across the valley . A fertile valley where the Benedictine Monks settled to the North in the C18th . Where ever you find a castle or abbey you will find it a sheltered area surrounded by fertile land. These places were not built on a whim but however many centuries ago they were very wise.

This village in Ryedale is a delightful place for a walk being situated on the edge of the North York Moors and near the Howardian Hills. Highlights include the nearby Yearsley Woods and the beautiful grounds of Ampleforth Abbey.
This circular walk explores the countryside and woodland to the south of the village. visiting Ampleforth Abbey, Gilling East and Yearsley Woods. The route runs for a distance of just over 6 miles with some small climbs on the way.
The walk starts in the village and heads south through the countryside to Yearsley Woods. Here you'll find miles of woodland trails, several ponds and lots of woodland birds.
After rounding the large pond the trail heads east towards Gilling.
From Gilling you head north west to Ampleforth Abbey and College. Founded in 1802, Ampleforth Abbey is home to a community of more than 55 monks. Visitors are welcome to explore the expansive grounds which include a Tea Room, Abbey Shop, Visitor and Sports Centre. It's a lovely place for a stroll with good footpaths, wide lawns and fine views of the valley.
From the abbey the route then heads west to take you back into Ampleforth.

So we hope you will try this walk when you come to stay with us . Enjoy the food at the Abbey Tea Rooms and the atmosphere too .

  And then make your way back "home" to stay with  us

Living in a Topsy Turvy World

I dont know about you but this lockdown is making my world more and more topsy turvy every day. I think Coronavirus has a lot to answer for .
 We are lucky here as we have plenty of our own space to roam about in. The weather has been wonderful and the countryside is lovely and quiet as it puts on its summer clothes and turns green.  I dont venture very far as so one day is pretty much like the next. So do I really know what day or more is the fact do I care.  Sometimes I think it is Tuesday for 3 days on the trot. I never liked Wednesdays so I miss Wednesday out . I think it must go back to what we did on what days at school. I think at junior school we did sewing on a Wednesday afternoon with Mrs Dobson and as she is long gone I can now say she was a dragon.She wasn't our class teacher and the only time I came into contact with her ,other than Wednesday afternoons ,was in assembly when she took her place at the piano. She would come tottering in her wedge type open toed mules shoes and flamboyantly tossed her head back and her chiffon scarf went with it as she slammed her fingers down on the keys of the poor old piano.  I think she was probably the first person I saw with varnished toe nails .Her husband was the postman and was so different to her. `Even when we were seven or eight we all  felt sorry he was married to her and would have to put up with her when she wasn't at school.  We had to make a stuffed toy in her class and even back in those days they must have thought about health and safety and as well as having scissors which had rounded ends they were blunt too.We had to take old stockings to school to cut up to stuff the toy and I can still feel the blisters now. That is why I think I dont like Wednesday . Tuesday we must have done something nice.

Well today is Tuesday so I was feeling quite happy with myself.

Now back into my topsy turvy world where I can stop up all night. Get up when I want ,go to bed when I want and as long as Jack has plenty to eat and I surface at mealtimes he is happy . Are we really going to have shortages of fresh vegetables in the winter and salad things. I do not know but as my brownie days made me ready for any eventuality I had spent much of today turning the summer house into a green house and the porch into a summerhouse .Even the birds must feel somewhat topsy turvy as a wren has started patching a swallows nest up .There was some tell tale signs on the flagstones today in the porch when there was a bundles of moss on the floor . At least Duchess the cat cant get up there.
There is a strange lot of blackbirds around so I will soon have to cover my red currants up as they come and eat them off the bushes  just as they are turning colour and ripening. As I have more time this year to keep my eyes on things I will be blowed if they will beat me .My strawberries are coming along well and have flowers on them. My Dad saw a photo of some of my tomato plants and he said they looked more like Christmas trees I dont know if that was a compliment or an insult.
And lastly my Bird of Paradise plant has not disappointed as it has thrown out its once a year flower . It lasts for a number of weeks and its beauty never ceases to amaze me .Later in the Summer I will put it out for a couple of months to get some fresh air but for now it is still indoor. I bet it is wondering what it has done to be down graded not to live beside geraniums and fuchsias but instead some very weird looking tomato plants .