Today’s guest picture comes from my occasional correspondent Elaine. She and our neighbour Liz were visiting a garden centre when they met some unexpected customers in the aisle of the polytunnel.
We had another day here that started with sun but turned rainy in the afternoon. I had a very quiet day as I was recovering from an outbreak of very sore feet (for no reason) yesterday. I did think of going for a gentle bike ride in the afternoon but the rain put paid to that.
I had a wander round the garden in the sun after breakfast, dead heading almost the last of the daffodils and some of the first of the tulips, while keeping an eye out for colour as I went.
The orange wallflower was too bright for the camera in the sunshine so I had to stand in front of it to put it in some shade and tone it down a bit.
The aubretias were fairly bright too.
Both the pink and the blue.
All three espalier apples have now got blossoms on them and as there are very few bees about, I will get busy with my pollinating brush when the weather permits.
Another pale flower caught my eye. This is the very first potentilla flower of the year.
I had a doubly sunny morning as Dropscone dropped in for coffee. In a salute to the changing season, he didn’t bring the traditional winter Friday treacle scone but came with a good pile of eponymous drop scones instead.
In case anyone is wondering if there were too many drop scones for two grown men to eat with their coffee, don’t worry. We managed to dispose of them all with the help of some home made raspberry jam.
After Dropscone left, the clouds wasted little time in covering the sky and the first drops of rain arrived just as I cycled round to our corner shop. Luckily they stopped while I was in the shop and the rain didn’t start seriously again until after lunch.
I looked at the hymns for Sunday’s service and then I looked at the birds.
Everyone was busy getting stuck into the seed…
…and then chewing it thoroughly.
Siskins, goldfinches and redpolls were keeping chaffinches away from the perches…
…but as the rain started and the traffic grew heavier, the siskins began to have trouble with more siskins…
…and goldfinches.
A sensible siskin deserted the sunflower seeds and turned to the easily available peanuts instead.
Despite the rain, Mrs Tootlepedal and our neighbour Liz went off to plant out Mrs Tootlepedal’s little oak trees. They returned having accomplished the task, thoroughly wet but remarkably cheerful.
While they were out, I made a batch of ginger biscuits.
As a contrast to the rain falling from above, the water coming out of our taps decreased in volume quite alarmingly in the evening and a call to the water company revealed that there is a leak somewhere nearby. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they can fix it promptly, because not having running water is very boring.
Thanks to the quiet day, my feet are feeling much better as I write this and I hope to be out and about again tomorrow.
The flying bird of the day is one of the chaffinches who couldn’t get a seat at the table.
Sorry about your poor, sore feet though glad a day of rest has helped. That blossom was to die for and the pile of drop scones made my mouth water!
Your flowers usually carry the day but I just may have to defer to the drop scones today!
They were good.
Meeting the pigs must have been a lovely surprise. The drop scones in your photo look delicious.
I am not sure lovely is quite the right word. 🙂
It’s disturbing that you have to pollinate the apples by hand. I hope the bees are just off enjoying the flowers somewhere else and not missing entirely.
Sorry to hear about the feet. I hope they feel much better tomorrow.
I’ve never had a scone but they do look tasty. And filling!
You haven’t lived if you have never had a freshly cooked drop scone. The alternation of hot and cold weather may have got the bees a bit baffled but I am hoping that some will appear soon.
Are you going to tell us the backstory of the pigs in the poly tunnel??? I would have gladly helped you consume the stack of dropscones – they look light and delicious.
Only just enough dropscones for two I am sorry to say. The garden centre is just a small one on a farm and the pigs are residents.
That would be quite a surprise seeing pigs while plant shopping. I hope your feet are much better soon. Great post and photos as always!
It is not too much to say that Elaine and Liz could hardly stand up for laughing.
Having to resort to pollinating by hand is a serious pointer to the decline in the bee population – how very sad.
It is more to do with the slightly odd way the weather has developed so that spring is a very hit and miss affair with flowers coming out while bees are still staying at home….though there is a shortage of bees as well.
What excellent pigs. And excellent looking scones too. Sorry about your lack of water pressure, hope that gets sorted out soon.
It did.
How could anyone resist those dropscones. Hope water leak dealt with quickly.
It was.
I don’t like the plurality of ‘feet’. Well done with the wallflower. Great guest picture – yours not too bad, either 🙂
I don’t like the plurality of feet either. One has been so sore that it has obviously made me walk ‘funny’ in spite of m,y best efforts and that has upset the Achilles tendon on the other. I am not a happy bunny.
Dammit
Precisely.
Double dammit. I am so sorry both feet have gone wonky.
The pig photo is hilarious. I am going to share it with a local nursery. They will get a kick out of it. All they have is cats, dogs, and chickens.
That’s not good enough. 🙂
Your capture of Mrs T’s very first potentilla flower of the year is gorgeous, I love the lighting and shadows. Glad your feet are feeling better!
The potentilla should be the first of many.
I, too, am sorry about your feet. But—holy cats!—I was excited to see a picture of dropscones. I was so excited that I called Clif in to take a look. We both decided they looked mini pancakes. Soon, we’ll be inviting friends over for dropscones,and it’s all because of you. Before I started reading your blog, I had never heard of dropscones.
They are indeed pancakes but as the batter for them is dropped onto the griddle from a spoon, they are also dropped scones.
Thanks for the tip Clif usually uses a ladle, but he will try using a spoon.
A ladle might give you very generous scones!
Clif ended up using a spoon. Stay tuned for the results, which, while not perfect, were still mighty tasty.
I am very excited.
Oh my those pigs look like they might do some damage. I can smell the wallflowers from here. Beautiful.
The pigs were very well behaved and left the plants alone though it took a lot of encouragement for them to go back to where they belonged.
I am sorry you have such trouble with your feet. I like the photo of the upside-down siskin on the peanuts.
They love to be upside down if they can.
For what it’s worth, I do wish we could get those feet of yours fixed up. I might have been a bit intimidated by the pigs in the aisle.
I second your thought about the feet, it is all most inconvenient and annoying. Liz is well used to life on a farm and helped shoo the pigs back to their proper home.
That is an excellent shot of pigs – they are excellent creatures. The dropscones look superb too – you are fortunate in your choice of friends.
I am indeed.
Now that’s a garden centre I’d love to visit!
[…] the things I have learned from the wide world of blogging. For example, before I started following Tootlepedal’s excellent blog, I had never heard of drop scones. Tootlepedal lives in Scotland, and he writes about everyday life—music and biking (hence the […]