In The Pink

A lush, sub-tropical-style, oasis perched on a peninsula at the edge of Loch Ewe amid the rugged landscape of Wester Ross, this world-famous historic garden is one of Scotland’s most popular botanical attractions. NTS  Inverewe Gardens & Estate We visited these gardens late September last year and I couldn't believe how many plants were in flower. The whole estate is somewhat sheltered supporting the many delicate blooms and sub-tropical plants that grow there. It was an amazing day out in yet another amazing part of Scotland.

I got this made before we went on holiday although I did not have time to put the picture up. 6 jars and one tub in total. Not bad for my first attempt! (Friends and family be warned, I will be bringing some with me on any visits planned soon.)

Well the apples are drained and have yielded about 6 litres of fluid which smells and tastes lovely, I am actually loathed to add sugar to it! Here is is: I tried to take a few artistic shots of the tubs it is currently in and failed miserably so thought I would just go with a close up of one showing the beautiful colour. It's in plastic containers at the moment hence appearing cloudy. I may experiment with some of it and try and come up with a few soft drinks as it really does have the most lovely flavour as it is.

In addition to the farmers being out harvesting their crops it is time again to pick the crab apples off the tree. The past few years we have been able to leave them until we return from holiday but the long Spring and Summer seem to have caused them to ripen early and I did not want to risk loosing the fruit. So yesterday I cut 12 lbs of apples from our lovely, small John Downie. The apples are currently stewed and draining in the kitchen and the smell is wonderful. I am making Crab Apple Jelly this year although on the suggestion of my Mum will be trying Crab Apple Wine next year which sounds lovely. I have found a couple of recipes for it here  and here . I have not made either Crab Apple Jelly or Wine before although from the looks of it the wine will be more of a challenge but I look forward to having a go and enjoying the results the year after.

The Hungry Caterpillar is a character close to my heart. I once made a Hungry Caterpillar costume for my nephews fancy dress birthday party. I had a great time but dancing was quite restrictive in my outfit! Anyway these little creatures are currently chewing their way through one of our rose bushes!

Ever since I posted last I have had Van Morrison singing Into the Mystic in my head (please note I am not complaining) it has been 3 days now! Well I am delighted to say it is Friday and I am starting to get that Friday feeling, helped along by the sunshine which has returned albeit through thin and intermittent cloud. The dogs and I have had a long lunch time walk and swim (as usual I did not swim but as usual the temptation was there) and they are enjoying an afternoon nap! I miss the ignorance of childhood. I am a water baby and as a child would accidentally on purpose throw myself into any available water. Now the desire is still there but knowledge prevents my actions. For example the stream may look nice but the cows poo in it and the farmer washes his equipment and such off in it upstream! Still I will be plunging myself into the water on holiday in Scotland next month, no matter what the temperature. We are usually very lucky with the weather in Scotland. The year the sto...

Well it's been a long time coming but our passion flower, which suffered so much during the cold winter, has finally decided to open one of it's many, many buds, and here it is! Actually there are two more flowers out today but I took this the day before yesterday. This flower has since closed up again! Hopefully it will re-appear at a later date!

Yep, done it again! Not so much with my blogging, although this is not exactly how I wanted In The Pink to look after I had been fiddling, but now my task bar on my PC is on the side of my screen and I cannot get it back! For those of you that do not know what I am going on about I have a nasty habit of getting bored with the look of my blog, trying to make changes, messing it up and spending hours putting it right! We are currently between the messing it up and putting it right stage, only this time more significant was the unintended click on my task bar which has caused it to relocate! A lot of things like this on PCs are logical in their solutions, but it would seem not this! If anyone knows how I can get my task bar back to the bottom of my page can they let me know? Anyway I have had a delightful few hours of blogging and got posts up on all of my blogs. I have also decided to create a new blog, more on that soon. While posting here I wanted to include two shots I go...

Well I am delighted to report that the frogs seem to have settled. We are now seeing them moving all around the garden and also sitting beside the pond, no doubt catching flies. At first they disappeared when we first moved them into the new pond and I worried however I expect they were just settling and learning to trust their new environment. We can now see them sitting on various stones around the pond throughout the day and evening. This little chap has c laimed this rock as his own! We have watched them moving around and getting in and out of the pond with no trouble. We have also noticed we have acquired a water snail who can be seen travelling across the surface munching all in its path. He must have come with one of the new plants we bought. He is too small for a photo at the moment but we will see how big he gets!

Blimey it's the weekend! Well that marks the end of my second week in the new job which is going really well still. I have tendered for a big tree contract with an influential client which will look good on the marketing material if we get it, fingers crossed! Otherwise its great to be working at home and not having to spend up to 2 hours a day just going to and from the office. It is also saving me a fortune in fuel! I think the pups might be a little bored despite having company for the day and getting longer walks. They do enjoy coming out and about with me and being in the truck. I have received comments from people who expect that the dogs hate being in the truck and will prefer the new arrangement but I think it is the other way round. I did specifically buy a truck with the biggest back section I could get and had a grill made so I can leave the tailgate open when I park up. We always parked in a nice shady spot with a good view for them and plenty of wildlife to watch and b...

I harvested the stems from my Rhubarb plant this weekend and got enough to make three huge crumbles. I left this central stem and what looks like a flower head (close up below) although I have never seen anything like this on my Rhubarb plant to date. If it carries on growing like this I am going to make some jam, or Rhubarb pickle maybe? I bought some pickle at a May Fayre at the weekend and it has inspired me!

We have been away on Bodmin Moor for a few days, its been a wonderful break but it is also good to be home. The garden grew a lot and I am delighted to say we have grass! We will see how it endures the pups paws! Here are some snaps of Bodmin and home, click on the collage to enlarge.

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