Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Visiting Father Christmas

We popped along the road to Ham House on Sunday, where we followed a trail to Father Christmas's Grotto.

It was great fun, running around the garden looking for clues, making  a magic word which we could  tell Father Christmas when we met him.

I don't know who enjoyed it the most, our six year old daughter or my husband and me!


Ham House

Lots of Fun

Christmas decorations

The first clue was here, under this exotic fruit

We read the clues and filled in the wordsearch

Riding lessons at a nearby stables

More clues, and directions to the next one!

The clues were in the most unlikely of places

Wintery light dappling this wall

Another clue

They were all attached to bowler hats

Every where looked cold... Brrrr!

Some vegetables were still growing in the garden

But most were gone

the Holly looked spectacular

At last the final clue

We're nearly there!

Hot drinks for those feeling the cold

And here is Father Christmas!

Monday, 9 April 2012

Cutie Pie

When we arrived in Brittany we found a young dove in the garden.


It seemed content, basking in the sun but  not yet flying.  It hopped around the garden for a couple of days, visited by its mother every so often.  Tempting though it was to feed it, I decided not to, we're only here for a fortnight, and I felt it would be cruel to let it rely on us.  We did put out some water.

By the third day it was fluttering it's wings and by the fourth it had flown from the garden!

We really enjoyed watching our little Cutie Pie, (named by my daughter)  and her mother Tweetie Pie. We were amazed at how tame and calm they were.  Luckily, for Cutie Pie,  the dog is elderly and he just looked at her, but was not interested in chasing (or worse)!

(Now I want a dovecote and to keep doves, but I can't see that as a possibility at present.  It's one thing to bring a dog on the ferry, but doves?  I don't think so.)

Cutie Pie sitting in the sun

This seemed to be her favourite spot

I don't have a fancy camera

With an amazing telescopic lens
we really could get this close
without her showing any concern

Tweetie Pie often joined her for an hour or two in the
midday sun

They were so relaxed

Only vaguely interested in us 

They were so happy in each other's company

Basking in the sun

And hopping off to follow Mum