These boots were made for planting

Flowers are growing quite happily in our garden (so are the weeds, but that's another story) and the bumble bees are really loving the lavenders I've bought, which is lovely.

There's been something I've wanted to try for a while; putting flowers in boots. My mother-in-law, who (as the daughter of a gardener) has a lovely one in her garden that I've been quite envious of, so when I noticed that SBB had left a pair of his old work boots in the garden over the winter, I knew my chance had come. I casually asked him one day what he was planning on doing with them.
"Nothing," he answered, "I thought you'd like to plant something in them."
"Really?" I asked, delighted. "How could you tell?"
He smiled. "Because I know you."
It's true, he does, and the fact that he thought of me and purposely kept them for me is lovely.

We were in B&Q, looking at plants. I was looking for something that would be okay in the pot and I'd been looking for a few minutes before I remembered I know NOTHING about plants. Nothing. SBB suggested just talking to his mum and asking her advice. I agreed and then I saw them. Geraniums. We shared a look and identical smiles. You might be thinking that we're a bit crazy so at this point I'm going to mention that we're fans of The Dubliners. In order to get the reference (and the joke) check out Seven Drunken Nights, by The Dubliners.
It had to be done.

There's a Headcrab in my garden

I made an odd discovery in our garden recently and I'm not sure what it is but it reminds me uncomfortably of a Headcrab (from Half-Life) or the red and black thing that chases Chris Pine in Star Trek. If anyone has any clue what it is, please let me know - it'd be nice to know that an alien species isn't hatching in my garden.

Creepy, isn't it?

Butterflies have been abundant and I've been trying to snap pictures of them when I can.

We've also got a new blackbird in our garden. We already have one blackbird that lives in our hedge and makes a next every year - he's rather friendly and is perfectly happy to come and sit near our feet when we're digging anything up in the garden. I've named him Benji.
But when we were last out in the garden we noticed a different blackbird - it may be Benji's son, we're not sure. He looks a little raggedy (possibly due to still losing his baby feathers?) so I've called him Scrappy Toots.

He's quite friendly, though, and came all the way up to my foot but I didn't want to get my phone out to take a picture in case it scared him away.
 

SBB has cleared along the back hedge, creating a tunnel in the foliage which looks rather magical, I think.

 

Afternoon walks - February, March and April

The end of February saw me resuming my afternoon walks. I think my last one was in December and by the time I got home it was pitch black - there aren't any lights along the country lanes so for safety's sake I decided to put them on hold. I'm not sure what made me decide to track the progress of the seasons but I thought it would be nice to do, so here are the first couple of months.

End February

End February

End February

Beginning March - it's the moon!

Beginning March

Beginning April

Beginning April

Beginning April

Beginning April

I plan to take photos at the beginning and end of each month. I didn't quite make it in March - but hopefully the other months will be better.

An autumnal walk

I'm a bit late with these but they've been sat in my upload folder for months so I thought I'd better get on with it. I was very impressed that I managed to take these photos with my phone!

 The above couple (the man's in front of his partner in this photo) overtook me on the path - the tall man striding along with purpose and the much shorter woman tottering behind in high-heeled boots - not very practical or comfortable for a country walk! But it did amuse me.

A natural place to store one's pen...

The shapes in the mud amused me. Perhaps childishly so...

I love autumn

Autumn has always been my favourite season. It's a period of change, the leaves are turning into beautiful golds and reds, there are tinted sunrises and golden sunsets and throughout the day there is delicate sunlight. The days aren't too warm and they're not too cold - they're just right. You could say they're the 'baby bear' of days for me.

One thing I love to do in the autumn is take walks and last week I managed to convince SBB to join me one evening for a stroll. We headed down towards the river and it was simply gorgeous. I took my 'nice' camera so I also managed to get some awesome photos.

 

 

 It was a lovely evening and we were out for about an hour. We even took a 'short cut' home through a field but it was so overgrown that SBB didn't fare so well in his shorts. He'd laughed at me for wearing jeans before we left... I tried not to be too smug!

 

It was the first time that we'd taken a walk together down to the river since we moved - we'd almost forgotten that such beautiful views were right on our doorstep!

But this autumn isn't just about evening walks and beautiful countryside for us, it's also about preparing for a significant change in our lives. One very important thing to know about me is that I'm a planner. I love to plan; writing lists, making spreadsheets, research. I'm the type of person that streetviews areas that we plan to visit. I plan holidays over a year in advance. Our wedding was planned three years before we got married.

SBB and I have discussed the possibility of children almost to death and we've finally decided that no amount of planning can really make us ready (which, as a planner who likes to exactly what's going to happen and when, is a little terrifying!) so we've decided to go for it. A little over a week ago I started taking Folic Acid after talking to my GP about what I needed to do to medically prepare so we're on a countdown until the end of the year.

Now we just need to finish the flat and get it on the market (and sold!) before our family (and I) start expanding! Right... Where's that paintbrush?