We’ve had some really atmospheric misty mornings and evenings recently, and I must say, I’m a huge fan of mist!
Easter Sunday dawned, and hubs and I were wandering along a lonely stretch of canal in search of the perfect place to release the grebe that came into the rescue recently.
Now….research was conducted and it revealed that a grebe can’t take off from land so MUST be released directly into water, where there is also a plentiful supply of fish. But luckily, hubs is exceptionally good at finding release sites; I give him the brief, and, hey presto….a minute later he comes up with the perfect place!
The ideal location was finally chosen and I released the grebe directly into the water…and….
it sank like a stone!!!
I was utterly horrified and was just about to jump into the canal to retrieve it…oh….btw, I can’t even swim! Anyway, at that exact moment the bird bobbed to the surface! Phew!
It was all plain sailing from then on, the grebe behaved perfectly, it dived, bobbed, swam, and finally took itself off to the the wild side of the canal. I watched it for a while. This is something I never tire of, or ever take for granted. Each release is very unique and special, and this one was magical!!
Easter Monday was our Bunny Bonanza, the rain held off and the public streamed through the doors. I had an endless face-painting queue and made almost a hundred pounds. Altogether £1.400 was made. NOT to be sniffed at….at all! I must say, all the kids behaved perfectly and waited their turn with infinite patience, they seem to enjoy watching each child being transformed.
I seemed to have a run on kids wanting to be robots!
Thursday dawned bright and sunny! The warmest day of the year!
And what does hubs do??
Yes, he puts the washing on the line. Never does it any other time….oh no….only on the nicest days to ruin the ambiance of my garden!!!
Oh…..D’ya SEE that lawn growing back???? Do ya????
You can’t have sunshine without bees…lovely round, plump bumbling bees…
and the daffodils shone out all the brighter, especially these gorgeous white/lemon ones that popped up from a standard bag of bulbs.
The cherry blossom is beginning to come through,
and the seedlings are a-sprouting and, of course, chitted taters needed a-planting.
Here’s to purple potatoes!
Daughter, who will always be my beautiful girl, chose the BEST weather to have a birthday, so it was off on a ferry across the Mersey, we sailed on Snowdrop! We also enjoyed lovely marine walks, lunches and drinks…..and cake….far too much cake!
What a difference a little sunshine makes!
And finally….
I bought an interesting item to place on the top of the nine foot tree stump in the back garden…..
Annie took possession of the box…
and, with a little help from Sam, who, I think may actually be inside the box in this pic, demolished the kitchen!
It’ s an armillary sphere isn’ t it? How exciting. I’ ve been struggling to think what it is called. I was going to say armadillo, but it didn’ t sound right. The canal looks lovely in the mist, very atmospheric. I hope your beautiful daughter had a lovely birthday, it sounds as if you had fun. One can never have too much cake.
Well of course it is….go girrrrl!!! Well spotted! I would have said armadillo…..without a doubt!!!
We did enjoy ourselves, bring on the sunshine eh…..and OF COURSE one can never have too much cake! Thanks Chloris!xxx
What a lovely post. Full of interesting and fun things !
I am glad to see that your hubs didn”t embarrass you by hanging out the family’s smalls on that washing line LOL !!
So nice to see the grebe being released into the wild. I wonder if the animals realise our intentions or if they just take things as they come ?
And what a great idea for face painting – a robot ! I bet the kids loved it.
Your daughter chose to have her birthday at a beautiful time of year. Lucky her. The days are brighter and getting warmer too. I love the way the light is reflecting on that ship in the photo.
And your two doggies ? Well what can I say ? Wreaking mayhem wherever they go. Ha, ha.
Looking forward to seeing the contents of that box when it is in with.
Thanks for another wonderful post. Have a great week Dina xxx
I meant ‘ in situ’ . LOL !
Oh…thank GOD for small mercies eh? Yes…at least it was just shirts!!!!
Sometimes I think wild animals get it, either that or they go into a shut down mode and let us handle them….it was so good to see that bird back on water!!
Lol….there was a run on robots, usually it’s tigers or spiderman!
The Albert Dock is lovely, especially at this time of the year, I love boats, we all do, which is why we always like to hang out there.
Thanks Keggs.xxx
I am glad the grebe came back to the surface and you didn’t attempt to jump in to save it when you can’t swim yourself. I am sure it must be so rewarding to see yet another creature returned to the wild.
The little blue robot’s face is adorable. Glad you were able to make such a good sum of money for the rescue.
Your grass looks wonderfully green and the laundry doesn’t really spoil the view. Laundry is just everyday life. Happy birthday to your daughter!
I was so glad to see that bird bob back up again, I would have jumped in after it…..but that may have ended badly!!! All’s well ends well eh??? It is such a great feeling to see an animal go back to where it belongs….it makes it all so worthwhile!
There has been a sudden rush on robots????
Ah….green, grass, shame it doesn’t last very long! Thanks Jennifer.xxx
So glad the Grebe bobbed back up – what a disaster if it had sunk – I can just see you stripping off and diving in to the canal to save it! Your garden is looking lovely in the spring sunshine – I enjoy planting mixed bags of bulbs – you just never know what you are going to get do you. Well done raising so much money in your Bunny Bonanza – it is good to know that the people attending are so generous to your cause. Glad too that you enjoyed the trip with your beautiful daughter on her birthday – love her hat – very 60’s! I also admire your patience with the box-ripping dogs – they would have me tearing my hair out! Looking forward to seeing your new piece of garden sculpture in its final resting place.
Oh…I was SO relieved to see the grebe bob back up, I think it was taken by surprise! I am glad that I didn’t have to go in after it as well, there was no time for stripping off, I would have had to go in fully clothed!
The rescue is so lucky to have so many supporters, without them it would go under quickly…..it’s a little like a jigsaw puzzle, everyone plays a part….
I love daughter’s hat too, and confess to regularly borrowing it! The 60’s….such a fun time!
Cardboard is easily picked up…lawns have me pulling my hair out! Thanks Elaine. xxx
Even with the laundry the garden looks fabulous. Oh to be at one of your fundraising events and to enjoy watching happy children being painted:)
The gebe story is fascinating. I learn something every time I read your blog.
Happy birthday to your beautiful girl and here’s to Annie and Sam continuing their adventures:)
I also love mists. Have a wonderful day in your garden. Xxx
How lovely it would be to have you at one of our events….one day gal…one day!!! You’d make us a fortune, but I wouldn’t have you face painting, I’d have you painting people’s pets….of which there are many!
Oh…mists, what’s not to love. Thanks Janet.xxx
It’s fantastic to have Hubs as helper… good that the grebe did find as well that place lovely! I guess the feeling you have, when liberating a rescued animal, is more than magical… you may feel in your heart some very special awareness… full with compassion and deep love for all these living beings! You are adorable <3 …
I do love misty days myself, they gave such mystery ambiance at the places you visit. Maybe in sunny days these places aren't the same…
About Sam and Annie 🙂 they surely feel very beloved and take a profit of that… but must of all they surely had a lot of fun!
The idea of the Bunny Bonanza is just fantastic! You gave me a great tip how to help the local WWF for some fundraising the use for saving the local species. Since now my husband is the southern Switzerland president, I'm sure I'll be able to convince him to try something like that! Thank you so much…
Give your beautiful daughter my best wishes…
And I wish you'll get some more misty days in a short time, just to make you happy!
🙂 Claudine
Hubs can certainly locate the ideal speck for each brief! How right you are about releasing animals and birds….it is more than magical, I hate to see them in captivity, but it’s all worth it when I get to see them back where they belong.
You can’t beat mist can you….it makes me believe that all things are possible somehow, that which is hidden is always really there….
I’m so happy to hear that our fund raising days have given you something to ponder on, if you would like to know what works fundraising-wise for our rescue please email me and I’ll let you know. We’ve tried all sorts of things, but there is, weather permitting, a tried and trusted bunch of activities. Thanks Claudine.xxx
Great photos and lovely stories of your action-packed week. Belated birthday wishes to your daughter. It sounds as if the celebration day was enjoyed by all as was the bunny event. It’s good when misty mornings turn to sunny days and you can enjoy the garden and all that’s flourishing in it. Looking forward to seeing the new garden feature fixed to the tree stump! Have a good week!
Thanks Linda, we did have a lovely day celebrating daughter’s birthday, the sun shone out, what more can we ask!
Our problem now is pinning the new feature onto that stump….xxx
LOOK at all those wonderful blooms! Your daffs and hellebores are gorgeous. When I visit you, it’ll be in April when your cherry blossoms can float down around me. And I am properly admiring your returning lawn. Well done you and the dogs. Of course, you only accomplished it by letting them destroy your kitchen now and again…
Such a great story about that grebe. You and John are a great pair and great release agents! That grebe knew just what to do. Beautiful.
Oh YES! Please come in April….it’s all very springish then! We have plenty of room….bring Roomie too!
The lawn returns….disappears…returns….sighs….an eternal cycle of sowing seed and running dogs on one lawn or other!
The cardboard is SO much easier to deal with! It was wonderful to see that water bird back where it belongs. Thanks Anne.xxx
We have lesser grebes (tiny things, actually) and Western grebes, and they certainly do dive and disappear like the cormorants. They’re seasonal, though, only here in the cooler months. Like the coots, sandhill cranes, white pelicans and others, they head north for the summer.
I love seeing laundry on a line. Hanging clothes was one of my favorite occupations when young. Now, with no yard — no clothesline!
The photo of the canal and the canal boats is fabulous. I’d love to live aboard again, if I could do it in such a setting.
How lovely that you have grebes, they are rather shy birds here so take cover and hide whenever people walk the canals. I just love cranes and pelicans and only see them when abroad, I do envy you those!!!
I love to see washing drying o a line, but not on the warmest days, those are reserved for sitting in and admiring what’s growing in the garden.
I know many people who live aboard on canals, it is lovely, but they all complain of cabin fever in our long drawn out winters. Thanks Shoreacres.xxx
My dogs would have no idea what to do with a box. They’d probably just avoid it while yours turn everything into a party. 🙂 I’m so glad the grebe was ok! I would have freaked out, too!I I do like a misty day. It make everything seem mysterious. 😉
Lol….now if only mine would AVOID boxes! They see me unpacking things and actually drool and bounce about with anticipation, they’re only three, so still teenagers!
It was so good to see the grebe back on water where it belongs, it’s always a little scary when releasing birds, you hope they are ready but are never totally sure. Oh mist….sighs…thanks Casa.xxx
Well done on EVERYTHING! Gorgeous pics! The garden is looking a treat and I must say, I do like to see washing blowing outside. Adds to the ambience, in my view! Those dogs are now wrecking your front lawn, I see … not to mention the box, what an ideal plaything.
But what I REALLY want to know is … what did you buy for the top of the tree stump????
Lol….thanks Gilly! I do like line-dried washing, but not on the warmest days, y’see, I can’t see me plants! Hubs NEVER puts it out on okayish/windy days!!!
Yes….the beasties are trashing the front lawn BIG style!!! What’s a gal to do????
Boxes…..dogs and kids love the things.
Now, the item that shall be installed upon the stump is an armillary sphere.xxx
Wow! Love that ‘Header picture’….Super! Delightful pic of daughter….
Good work with the Bunny Bonanza….great!
A Happy Post……Mists notwithstanding….
Always enjoy your posts D! Hugs! xx
Thanks Bushka, daughter did look very elegant in her hat on her birthday, kept the sun off too! Glad to hear you enjoy my posts.xxx
Oh, Dina, always so much fun to see Sam and Annie living it up, and all the great beauty you create everywhere you go! The yard looks splendid, colorful and full of blooms, and hub’s laundry must smell heavenly! 🙂 All the varied blues are so arty!
I’m with you on loving spring/autumn mists and all the atmosphere they lend to life and photos! Magical, and you’ve captured that so beautifully.
I love the grebe’s story and am soooo happy for you and it: blessings on its next bit of life. How wonderful that the fundraiser for the Refuge was such a success: I bet the face-painting contributed greatly to that. The robot is a delight!
A a very happy new year, full of blessing and sweet surprises to your beautiful daughter: sounds like a wonderful celebration!
Joy to your new week!
I must say that line-dried washing is the best and smells so sweet, if only I had a speck where I couldn’t see it…..I don’t like missing out on what’s blooming in the garden! Lol….guess who buys his shirts, a real fan of blue I am, it has to be my favourite colour!
Mists! You just can’t beat them, as you say, so very magical and transforming. It was lovely walking the canal in the hazy swirling mists….and I’m so happy to see it doing what it does best on the water, it’s always sad to have a water bird in a cage, a little tlc did it the world of good.Thanks so much Kitty.xxxx
Grebes are one of my favourite birds, they are so beautiful. So glad that you made so much on your open day, I’ll bet the public had a wonderful time.
I like the photo of your daughter on the ferry, that was the way I went to work in the summer, we lived in Birkenhead and one of the banks I worked at was in Castle St. just by the Victoria monument. I was reading the other day that the ferry boats have been painted in bright colours, was it just one or have they all been painted?
Grebes are gorgeous aren’t they, such delicate, elegant little birds. It was so good to see this one back on water again! The open day was fun and it’s always good to raise a little extra cash.
I bet the ferry was cold in the winter!!!
The ferry we sailed on, Snowdrop, was painted, that’s the only one. I did take pics, I’ve no idea why I didn’t post one. Thanks Pauline.xxx
The pic of daughter was lovely- quite artistic.
You will love the purple potatoes. We’ll grow them again sometime.
The Grebe was a great result.
What is it that you are crowning the tree stump with?
I wonder what the kids would have made of Marvin the depressed android…how would he have been depicted.
Splendid fund raising outcome for the rescue centre.
This really is a multi-dimensional atmospheric post.
xxx
Thanks Menhir, daughter is rather photogenic….
I can’t wait for purple potatoes, I’m wondering if they taste the same as the white ones, it will be interesting to see their foliage too…
We are having an armillary sphere on the top of the stump, it should look rather nice up there.
Gosh yes…..how would you depict Marvin!!!
Thanks Menhir.xxx
Your garden is looking fabulous and I have to admit that I love to see washing drying on the line, I think it adds something to a garden. Perhaps it’s just because the weather isn’t conducive to getting clothes dried all that often. Brilliant news about the bunny day, I hope that lots of bunnies got wonderful new homes on the day as well as the rescue raising some much needed funds Happy belated birthday to your daughter, she’s a very stylish miss, I notice that in all the photos you show of her. The item for your tree stump looks very interesting, I look forward to hearing more about that.
Lots of people enjoy washing drying in the garden, I wouldn’t mind so much if it was out on a windy day, but hubs always picks the sunniest day and the washing blocks my view of the flowers.
We re-homed several bunnies so that was a great result too!
Daughter will be very pleased about being called stylish, I’m her mother but do have to agree!
I shall post on the tree stump item when we get it in situ…..it will have to be pinned down as it sure gets windy up there. Thanks Jo.xxx
The lawn is looking good. Grebes always seem to swim half underwater to me a bit like cormorants,
Dogs seem to love making a mess with packaging, With Tivvy she enjoys preparing plastic bottles for recycling”
The lawn is beginning to grow back, but as soon as my beasties start galloping on it it shall be bare again….
Yes, I’ve noticed that about grebes and cormorants too….I was so glad our one went off so well.
Lol……good on Tivvy! I’ve noticed that dogs seem to like messing about with plastic bottles. Thanks Sue.xxx
A most enjoyable post, and lovely photos. I like misty mornings too but don’t seem to get many here nowadays.
Good to see that your Bunny Bonanza went well and that you made a tidy sum as well.
Annie sure looks like she’s having fun! xx
What a shame you don’t get mist any more, now I wonder why that is? Annie specializes in fun. Thanks Flighty.xxx
Yes, sunshine makes all the difference. Your garden is looking extremely spring-like. I think the laundry adds a lovely touch of blue that provides a contrasting harmony for the verdant green. I’m sure that’s what your husband was thinking. Lovely daffodils, and a scary robot!
Thanks Jason, you had me laughing out loud re your comment….sadly, hubs is garden blind!!!xxx