Looking out

This is the view from my kitchen window. I had planned to show you where I sit and type these posts but the flash is still not working on the camera, hence the outside shots. I often wonder when I'm reading other blogs where people are sitting and what their surroundings are like as they write their entries, wouldn't it be fun if we could see!

I met up with a friend recently who has been reading my blog and she asked if blogging had made a difference to me. I said yes it had in lots of different ways, one of them being that I tend to notice things around me more. Things that I might have taken for granted at home or in the garden I notice more now. Yes, blogging can be introspective, but conversely for me it also makes me look out more and appreciate things.

Anyway, the view from the kitchen isn't that bad. The kitchen is one of the darkest rooms in our house so it's great to have these poppies bobbing around outside the window. looking like tiny suns and greeting us every morning. The foxgloves are still blooming and beyond the flowers is our apple tree. Previous owners must have had quite a love of fruit, we also have a fig tree and lots of blackberry bushes, all are very established, thankfully!

Up in the tree, not willing to miss any photo opportunity, is one of our cats, posing as usual. Whenever we go outside the cats rush out and go mad, they get so excited, jumping up the trees or on the shed. I never know what they expect is going to happen - I throw the ball, they run after it and stop and stare at me as if I'm mad. All they ever really want is a tickle or hug.

Little has she noticed the wire bird underneath her - oh perhaps she has. ..


Beyond the apple tree is a very old and tall ash tree, that stands very majestically at the end of the garden. Even the cats can't climb it, but it offers sanctuary to the magpies!

I decided to gather up all the eiderdowns and air them on the washing line. It's got too warm at night now to have them permanently on the beds, my youngest daughter is constantly moaning about being too hot and not being able to sleep, so the eiderdowns will be bundled up once aired and put on top of wardrobes. Having dropped them on top of the bench, I thought I'd take a photo and rearrange them to show you. Well, halfway through, the cats had better ideas and it wasn't long before they were divebombing each other from under the quilts, jumping out from under the bench and then finally pulling them off completely, Time to give up on that one.

By now the cats had worked themselves up into a frenzy and it was full blown war! I guess that's what sisters do in this house!
Last week after all the rain, the grass was quite tall and the cats spent most afternoons pouncing on each other. Now I know cats are clever but why do they always assume they can't be seen? They do it in the house too, slink about on the prowl, totally convinced that you can't see them sneaking up to the half finished bowl of cereal left on the table!
Back in the garden I noticed something that I'd been waiting to happen for a year. Nothing last year and then, like buses, not one, not two but three come along at the same time ...


Beautiful dusty pink oriental poppies.


Enjoy your weekend.