Docking...

...is a village halfway between me and the coast.  Not long ago an enterprising person had the idea of a local produce market there and Docking Market was born and you can find it at Dr W E Ripper Memorial Hall in the High Street.  It's a great mix of food and crafty gifts and ever growing, and from the 6th June I'll be there...so, I look forward to meeting everyone at 10am on that date!

I'll still be at Swaffham Indoor Market on Fridays...and will be there all weekend over the Jubilee (or that's the plan!)

Also had a great lunch at La Campagna can't wait for the yurt to go up and then visit for an evening.  Such a lovely couple...

And has anyone been watching Chelsea...the garden version, plants and gardens to die for.  So, if I can get rid of the rabbits, and stop next doors horse from eating my garden....I can be inspired!  With the sun shining on it...it's a work in progress!  My little bit of horticulture continued yesterday with a visit to Peter Beales Roses.  I simply love roses...especially the old varieties, but since childhood I've had one particularly in my life, it's called Meg and has large, single flowers of peach-apricot.  Why has it been with me for so long?  My mother bought it for my father on their second wedding anniversary, which was the week before I was born, it moved with us each time the family moved, and now has been settled for the best part of fifty years...and now I have my own...

Oh...and PS....they won gold at Chelsea...again!

A mixed...

...bag.

I've been making some more brooches with the beautiful handmade buttons I received, and this is the first of them...or rather this is the one I got the photo of as the weather got dark and I didn't get the rest finished....so....

I will be looking for more and different buttons soon...

Also, when I left my old garden some were concerned (or mentioned) I might have a trouble with leaving all the pretty things, especially as I couldn't bring anything with me; my old garden was riddled with ground elder.  So I thought I'd show you a view of the side of the house, beside the cart shed....

I can live with that!  Now all I need to do is find out which it is!  I have four or five climbing roses, of which, I have no idea of name...any ideas gratefully listened to.

I found another...

...ball to juggle.  The area of garden behind the "new" kitchen (when it's finished), there was a raised area laid to gravel, leading up to another smaller area of paving, and then the hedge and walnut tree.  It's hidden beside the summer house, a little suntrap.  

On Friday I decided to start scraping the gravel away, moving it to the side paths(waste not), cleaning the paving...renewed the little stone wall finding two curled lizards under there and then sat and watched the wildlife come and go.  Big bustling bumble bees finding a hidy hole in the stump of an old tree, birds of all varieties collecting bugs from the newly tumbled stones, two blue tits testing my winter raised house for them, the pair of robins back and forth to their nest and a climax of coming eye to eye with a little brown mouse...I was on my hands and knees at the time pulling up the old weed inhibitor.  The sun rose on Saturday and we dragged some paving into place to make two paths, like the rays of the sun...next I started the digging, finding little pieces of pottery of varying colours.  Finding those, you wonder whose lives they touched, how they slipped to be broken and when they were strewn on the garden and buried...

Now I have the start of a herb garden...chives, thyme are already planted.  Sorrel, tarragon, flat parsley, sage, fennel, and chamomile are waiting to find a home, with mint and lemon balm staying in large pots.  A few sweet peas will trail up a wigwam this year, nasturtiums will tumble over the wall and a sprinkling of bright calendula will wend their way between...

Now...just the rest of the garden to deal with!

A little bit...

...of slate floor...



it just needs cleaning and grouting on Monday, and then sealing on Tuesday...I'll be a smiley person then.

And what a week of sunshine we had, so taking full advantage of the beautiful weather I've been cutting, digging and beginning planting. Now old shrubs have gone, dotted around in piles, waiting for recycling...

My little recycled brush fence, which now has some hawthorn hedging growing by it.

It's been a good weekend...finished today with a walk along Holkham Beach...twenty or so minutes from home and I can be paddling in the sea! Today was wearing wellies!

Our new...

...kitchen floor is nearly complete. Large slate slabs are being laid to make our two rooms one. Just a few edging ones to do then sealing, grouting and then sealing again to bring them to their full glory. At present they're dusty, dull and waiting... Our floor was a lovely mismatch of levels, and now only slopes gently, well we are talking old cottage... Totally reliant on the two men who've been laying it. A young man and his father-in-law, who have worked hard...in amongst the copious cups of tea and coffee I've made. Then next week a couple of cupboards are due to be delivered... Slowly we're getting there

I've been searching out old...or handmade bolts and latches ready for repainted doors, as those in place are those DIY store versions. It's a shame at some stage all the original pieces have disappeared and now the cottage is owed a little respect and dignity...

Whilst the floor is being laid I've been fighting the garden. Old shrubs have been attacked with vigour, trimmed and when needed, dug out. Grass has been taken from old flower beds, and little sprouts from bulbs now show. I made a small wattle fence, not your full hazel or willow one, but with the cuts from the shrubs(waste not want not), and this has plugged a hole in our hedge where a large bushy tree was cut down, before we moved in, and I must say I'm quite proud of myself. I've also been fighting rabbits. We have burrows in the garden, it might be a whole warren, but the little dears eat anything remotely green and within reach. So yesterday I started the fight back, closing all holes in the garden, leaving them the main one in the outside bank. This morning most of the holes were back...so, fork in hand they were closed again. Tomorrow I'm guessing they'll be back...and the fight for my garden will go on. I want to plant flowers...I like flowers, but if they're nibbled back...it'll be a waste of time and energy. So the rabbits have to go...humanely. They have large fields next door if they want house room, and all the grass they could want to nibble.

I refuse to say anything about last Saturday and football...apart from...*sigh*

A further...

...wander around the garden.

Taking photographs of the garden I'll be leaving behind...

Wild Strawberries

Clematis

Rosa - Schoolgirl (climber)

Yellow water iris (in bog frog and newt hole)

Tradescantia (named for the botanist Trandescant)

Alliums

Jacobs Ladder

Flag Iris (sorry, I can't remember which variety)

The ancient Rosa Mundi

My favourite roses are the old-fashioned highly scented ones, and though some have a short flowering season, others if dead-headed will flower for longer periods. In my new garden I have plans to support their flowering with the English varieties. The present owner doesn't like flowers, being a shrub and tree person...with very few flowering shrubs even. We inherit a couple of lilacs, a hebe and a ceanothus as flowering shrubs, other that that...she cut the wisteria down to a stump, but it was still there, so hopefully we can resurrect that by putting it on a trellis away from the wall.
Plans...plans...what fun!

Vanished...

...overnight.

My cute little friend has gone this morning.

I contacted the Raptor Centre near us yesterday, and asked about him/her. The lady told me that Tawny owls are notorious for leaping out their nests when still young, and not quite ready for the outside world, but they'll then find themselves somewhere they feel safe, with Mum and Dad knowing exactly where their baby is....and will feed them when it's dark...then safely guide them to somewhere better...

I did hear little beeps in the night, so my guess is that was feeding time...

We were only together for a few hours, but I miss him already...

Oh my gosh...

....just look what's hanging around my door!





It looks like a young tawny owl to me...the black eyes give it away. I'll keep an eye on it, see if it goes later, if not...I know a person that helps. But at present it definitely likes my pineapple broom...

I'm umming...

...and ahhing. Trying to choose some linen to make cushions from. I want it to be soft, so a mix would probably be best...and hardwearing, my family aren't gentle with cushions...even those for effect. It used to be easy, but it's been awhile...now there's just so much choice. I've found some in Japan, I like...or do I buy a bolt from France...

Apart from that...I took my camera into the garden again...

A windy...

...and quite chill morning...





...these dancing heads greeted me. Not long before the other joys join them.

Now...

...the paint is ordered.

The wall and woodwork paint was ordered on Saturday, and should be here tomorrow or Thursday...the wall paint is a strange yellow/green from The Little Greene and the tiles will be on the wall Friday. I could do them myself, but this time someone else can do them for me...I'll stick with the painting, except for the ceiling...one of the men in my life can do that. Why have a husband and two adult sons and do it myself! I have to find some shelving too, something old and wooden that can be painted, or two scaffolding planks and make it myself.

I'm also planning to make a herb garden, not very large, but with the bits I like using. I have the design where I usually keep things like that, in my head. It won't take much to dig the patch of garden and lay the design out. Hopefully it'll stay nice this week to get that done, and at least prepared.

And on top of that we've got a game tomorrow evening, against our staunchest rivals...but, I'm trying not to think that far!

I've also given myself a shabby header...just something different.

All last week...

...we had a haw frost over snow, and by Friday I'd decided to take my camera into the garden and snap away. Below are some of my efforts

Part of the garden

Winter Jasmine

Holly

Choisya (Mexican Orange Blossom)

Pheasants toes

Hiding Place

And then on Sunday looking out, this sunrise greeted me. (I just turn on my side and get this view)

So pretty I decided to pad downstairs and walk to the end of the front path for this...

No artificial lens' were used in the making of these photographs...I'm not that clever!

Yesterday....

...having a stop for an afternoon cup. I sat looking out through the french doors into our garden, watching the last of the leaves fall, and the birds tipping them up looking for bugs, and scuffling around under the hanging seed box I have out for them. I have a couple of pheasants and a moorhen who are there most of the day. Suddenly something made them take flight, and slowly wandering across my vision was a monkjack deer. He had all the time in the world, but, not enough for me to grab my camera. They're nervous enough and even though I was indoors, my movement would have disturbed him, so I preferred to sit and watch, as he wandered through and fed.

I knew we'd had one around as we found footprints last week, whilst clearing some leaves. I've also seen the squirrels back...the rabbits still abound...and various varieties of birds. Though I've never had the kingfisher back...that was very special and a one off!